Creative photography is an open field for all people. Honestly speaking, there is no easy definition of the term, as a good number of people think of a creative photo as abstract and out of focus. Others just think that the term “creative” is just a fun way to praise a bad photo in general. But what would be the best option to define creative photography for us? Some artists think of creative photography as containing additional elements that are used to enhance the original version of the photo in a creative way.
If you noticed, that definition has two very important aspects that make a big difference between a creative photo and an everyday photo:
Extra elements, which are mostly outside the usual process of taking a photo and have a lot of room for interpretation. Creative minds always include some kind of simplistic workflow in photos, and they can be as simple or as complex as you like. The main goal is simply to get the best of a single photo.
Intention, or the intentional use of additional elements. When taking photos, photographers always lack that extra creativity. This is why getting good camera exposure will never make a photo look or feel creative. But intentional underexposing with the goal of getting a darker image adds an extra touch of creativity.
When capturing a well-exposed image of anything, no artist will consider it a creative display. If you are wondering why, you should know that it is because nothing outside of your normal photographic workflow was used to take the image. As good as your location, lighting, weather, and all the other real-life factors are, you just can’t bring out the colors and other details in an image without good post-processing skills.
Once you compare a non-stylized photo to something taken under strong light, a shallow depth of field (DOF), and the rule of thirds, you can create an image that will have your audience dreaming of whatever your image depicts. With that approach to photography, not all artists will admit that their work has a creative flair, but when you take the definition highlighted above, the additional elements and intention can be nature itself.
Of course, people will always differentiate creative from non-creative photography, but just like art, there is no pattern to guide it in any way. There is no definitive answer to what makes a photographer creative, because unlike the technical side of photography, which has a clearly defined workflow, the creative side does not. That’s the most challenging and exciting part of creative photography, and that’s also why people think of learning photography as something they spend their entire lives on. Although you can understand the technical side of photography, it is the creative side that will require you to always seek new ways to achieve your goals.
Unfortunately, hardly anyone can provide you with a simple creativity workflow. The only two things you can work on are careful observation and innovative thinking. These two methods are absolutely mandatory for capturing creative photos.
Best practices for capturing an image ready for a creative touch include improving the composition of the frame by removing all distracting elements around it (such as trees or buildings). The end result, of course, will look dull and boring, even if there are no technical errors in the image. It can take just one wave from the sea to make an image look impressive, and it is completely natural.