creativity

Artists Delete Graffiti Photoshop-style with a Painted Illusion

Now this is clever: a group of street artists in Russia have "deleted" the graffiti covering a dumpster and abandoned car with a clever anamorphic illusion. Using paint, the artists covered the graffiti with Photoshop's transparency checkerboard to make it look like someone had cut out the graffiti from a layer in Photoshop.

How to Create When You’re Just Not Feeling It

It’s not uncommon in any field to find yourself in a creative rut at some point. In this 10-minute video, photographer Sean Tucker discusses how he overcomes his main sticking points, and keeps creating new work week-in and week-out.

The Three-Year Itch in Photography

When you glance through a women magazine, different rules about relationships and their make-or-break moments turn up. One such …

What You Learn from Shooting the Same Product for 7 Years

What can you learn from shooting the same product over and over (and over) again for many years? That's what photographer Peter McKinnon had to do for work the last 7 years, and in this video he explains how those years taught him to shoot and think more creatively than his competition.

3 Reasons Why You Aren’t Taking Better Photos

No matter your current skill level, you could (and should) always be getting better. And if you ever find yourself in a creative rut—as we all do from time to time—watch this video. Photographer and filmmaker Peter McKinnon thinks he knows why you're struggling, and how to get out.

Lensbaby Edge 50 Optic: This Is Not A Review

Before I bought the Edge 50 optic earlier this year I did a bit of online searching to find out how people were using it, what their thoughts were and what sort of images they were creating with it. I found a few “proper” reviews but struggled to find any “this is what I’m doing and how I’m feeling about it” sort of posts.

On Creativity: Seek Failure and Make Mistakes if You Want to Improve

Creativity. It’s something I’ve been toying with in my own mind for the last couple of years. The question of ‘how can I develop and grow my work/art?’ is a problem that I think plagues most creative people. With creativity, there aren’t essentially any simple answers.

5 Ways to Improve Your Creativity in Street Photography

When I started photography nine years ago, I didn’t have a problem going out and finding inspiration. Everything was so new and, subsequently, there seemed to be no end to the ideas I felt I could produce. Looking back, I can see that my work wasn’t particularly indistinguishable from many others—there was no depth, no originality.

6 Photographers Asked to Shoot the Same Objects… With No Repeats

Canon Australia has been conducting a series of experiments that are "designed to shift creative thinking behind the lens." For the latest one, titled "Evolution," the company gathered 6 professional photographers and gave them everyday objects to photograph. But there was one simple rule: the same composition cannot be shot twice.

The results can be seen in the 2-minute video above.

Roaming the Stadium With My Camera During an NFL Football Game

Last month, I covered an NFL football game in which I had freedom to roam once what I shot what I needed for ESPN the Magazine (that story to be published this month).

I was done with my pregame shoot and portrait session the night prior, and so I had a decision to make: drive four hours home or spend four hours over four quarters making pictures at a game that, in the terms of the NFL this season, was a little off the grid.

Finding Your Inner Creative Soul as a Photographer

Alright photographers, here’s something esoteric from a person that isn’t esoteric at all. For a minute, let’s just forget about all the settings, lenses and cameras we photographers love to talk about all day long. This article is solely dedicated to your inner creative soul. That deep, underlying voice of your photography that influences all your creative decisions. What is it in you that actually leads to hitting the shutter?

13 Exercises for Photographers That Can Help Jump-Start Creativity

Like the world’s tidal waters, photographic creativity ebbs and flows for many of us. Sometimes creativity can use a jump-start, an artificial method to get the photographer to start looking at the world in a new way in order to facilitate, restart, refine, or improve your photography.

There are many ideas on how to get yourself to push through an artistic block or inspire you to further expand your boundaries. Not all of them involve the camera. Several websites and books publish a mix of assignments or exercises for the intrepid photographer. I prefer the exercises that 1) involve using your camera, 2) are less assignment-based, and 3) are fun!

How to Find Interesting Photographs When You’re Stuck in ‘Boring’ Locations

Travel photographers get to traverse the world in search of one-of-a-kind photo ops, so finding interesting things to capture usually isn't a problem for them. But what if you're limited in terms of mobility and find yourself shooting in the same locations, day after day? Things can quickly start to feel dry and "boring."

If you're just starting out in photography and that describes how you feel about where you are, here's a nice video that may inspire you and jump start your creativity. In it, photography instructor Mike Browne offers some advice on how to take interesting photos in seemingly mundane places.

What Makes a Great Photograph? A Bit of Thanksgiving Encouragement

Despite the video's title, the short, encouraging snippet above from photographer Joel Grimes isn't about finding a specific set of characteristics that define "a great photograph." Instead, it's about finding out what a great photograph is to you.

It's a matter of taste, discovering your personal vision, and then coming to terms with the fact that not everybody is going to love what you do.

The Singh Project: Portraits that Show the Diversity of Sikh Men

Traditional Sikh men are immediately identifiable by their characteristic beards and turbans, but that doesn't mean that each Sikh man is the same. With over 30 million Sikhs in the world, there is an incredible amount of diversity within the community, and the Singh portrait project by London-based photographers Amit and Naroop is all about highlighting the diversity of these men who all share a common faith.

Inspiration: John Cleese on How to Be Creative

Legendary writer and actor John Cleese is known more for his sense of humor than almost any other attribute. But as he demonstrates brilliantly in the above video, he also has an inspirational outlook and deep interest in the subject of creativity.

Destroying the Creative ‘Monsters’ and Overcoming the Immature Mindset that Nearly Killed Me

I’m writing this from the perspective of someone who is trekking through the process. I’m not sitting on a high horse. I can’t even afford a horse.

It is often said that you have to be partially insane to be a creative. I’m not sure if that idea is influenced by the odd forms of modern art, or if someone recognized the risk of choosing fields with high unemployment rates.

Video: Inspirational Advice on How to Attain Creativity Through Diligence

It may seem as though creativity is an innate trait, passed down in the genetic code from generation to generation, but that's just not the case.

It’s been shown over and over again that with the right mindset and ideals, creativity and success can indeed be taught. And in the above video, writer Shawn Blanc shares his insights on the abyss of creativity and how proper time-management, focus and routine lead to creativity and success.

OKDOTHIS: An App for Photographers that Never Lets You Run Out of Ideas

One of the more difficult things about being a creative is having to come up with fresh ideas on a daily basis, constantly challenging yourself and expanding your horizons. These things aren't always easy and it's not uncommon to find yourself in a creative rut with (seemingly) nowhere to turn.

Thankfully, there's a new app in town that is designed to help you out of those kinds of situations while simultaneously keeping you on your game even when you are inspired. It's called OKDOTHIS.

Parents Keep Their Kids’ Imaginations Alive with Creative ‘Dinovember’ Project

Parents Refe and Susan Tuma aren't big on Movember, at their house November is reserved for a different tradition: Dinovember. Documented in photos on the project's Facebook page, the Tumas spend November keeping their kids' imaginations alive by convincing them that every night, their dinosaur toys come to life and get into all sorts of trouble.

The Joys of Instant Photography

A few months ago, I was in Los Angeles and grabbed coffee with my friend Eric Steelberg. Eric's a talented cinematographer and mentioned a piece of gear he wanted me to check out. Expecting the latest digital gadget to appear out of his bag, I was surprised to see him pull out a large brick of a camera that I'd never seen before. It was a Polaroid 180 Land Camera from the 1970s.

Conquering Creative Burnout: Put Down the Camera

Whether you are an amateur photographer or a professional photographer, there will come a time when you are simply burned out. Periods of your photographic life where just the idea of picking up your camera is exhausting.

Creatives of all types face these challenging times, and they can be both daunting and scary. It can feel like your passion may no longer be your passion or, for the professional photographer, it can impact your life in a financial or business manner.

Kirby Ferguson on How Creativity Comes from Without, Not from Within

Try imagining a make-believe creature that has absolutely no basis in reality. Can you? Not really. The truth is, everything imaginary is simply a rehash of things that actually exist... just in a combination that doesn't exist. Aliens are simply strange combinations of humans and other creatures that we know. Unicorns are horses with horns. Bigfoot is some guy that accidentally spilled Rogaine all over his body.

This is the basis for writer Kirby Ferguson's big idea: that "everything is a remix." He created a popular four part video series on this topic over the past year, and recently he was invited by TED to give the condensed, sub-10-minute version of it that's shown above.