what to shoot

Afgha

Afgha

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As a beginner, the biggest problem with photography I have is actually going out abd taking photos.

I must have had a DSLR for 2 or 3 years now. I'm always reading up on photography, either looking at photos or reading tutorials, online or in books. But whenever I take my camera out anywhere, my mind goes blank on what shots to take. For some reason I always end up taking photos of doors, Street signs or if I'm on holiday, typically touristy type shots.

Did/does anyone else have this issue and if so how did they overcome it.

I went on a beginners course last month just to try and learn a bit more and get out and do something. Typically I'd already read most of what the instructor taught and when we went out I ended up taking photos of doors and Street signs.

I'm going to try and get out more over the next few months but I know I'll end up struggling to pick a subject to take photos of.
 
What are you interests. Landscape,wildlife,portrait photography..or is there something else that you have a greater interest in like cars.old buildings. Try something that you like. Reflections,waterfalls, raindrops on flowers etc. just go for it. It will come.
 
I am in the same boat. I just joined a photo club hoping to get some moment.

I also started testing different topics. I got a macro adapter an started taking macros. Also tried smoke photography. Planning to try infrared
 
Albertaclipper said:
What are you interests. Landscape,wildlife,portrait photography..or is there something else that you have a greater interest in like cars.old buildings. Try something that you like. Reflections,waterfalls, raindrops on flowers etc. just go for it. It will come.
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That's just it. I don't know. I like looking at landscapes and portraits but also life many other types of photos.

I'm not confident enough to do portraits and probably never will be. I'm painfully shy and lack in confidence. I like scooters and they are another thing I always end up shooting when on holiday in Italy but the shots are pretty uninspiring. Old and derelict buildings are of interest. I'm interested in taking sports photos but not at looking at them if that makes sense.
 
fagopher said:
I am in the same boat. I just joined a photo club hoping to get some moment.

I also started testing different topics. I got a macro adapter an started taking macros. Also tried smoke photography. Planning to try infrared
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I've got the chance to go out with a couple of professionals in a couple of weeks. I'm umming and arghing about it at the moment but I really should go with them. They're going around the canals and railway arches of Manchester.

When I look at some of their work, some of the subjects aren't much really but the photos look great.
 
Same boat here nearly, I live in a uninspiring place as well to top it off, shy to boot so I know where your coming from, you should defiantly tag along with the pro's.

I have taken very very little so far, partly due to the weather we are having, a grey rainy day is not for me, maybe once we get some sun I will get to the beach with an ND filter for some landscape shots, I am interested in getting some of the glassy water effects I see, you could give that a try if you have any water near you.
 
I would like to make some suggestions. First off I think most of us go through this from time to time. The first thing I would suggest is to look at other photos and when you come across something that inspires you go out and try to capture it yourself. One thing that I am doing now is looking how I can create a interesting shoot with creative aperture settings. I take things that really are boring and put a twist on them with a nice fade out for instance. It's a working progress right now but it makes something a simple as a brick sidewalk into a challenging shot for me to tackle. You should give it a try. I hope this helps and keep shooting....
 
Some people are more creative than others so will find it easier to think about shots that they want to try out.
I am not artistically creative at all but have always loved many art forms as a viewer of them. I go to galleries I watch everything going on BBC 4, I look at stuff on Internet but my own creativity remains low.

What makes my lack of creativity clear is that my wife is very creative and I can see we just have very different minds. She is not interested at all in how a camera works and doesn't like the technical aspect, I picked up the technical aspect within minutes and can't see why see doesn't get it or is not interested in it.
However her photos are better than mine (auto modes are pretty good!) and mine tend to be on the boring/uninspired side.

Realise this won't help you but it may add something.
 
If you are really stuck for ideas of things to shoot, hop on to google images and do a couple of search for some places local to you to see how others photograph them. I'm not saying to blatantly replicate their shots but it will give you ideas of different approaches to take than those you probably had in your mind.
 
Join a local camera club- you'll meet some local toggers, learn some techniques and get feedback on your own images that you can decide to take on board or not. You can arrange to go out together to shoot.

If you really are shy then go and try out landscapes- they only talk back through your images- when you look on flickr, etc which style of landscapes most inspire, old barns, seascapes, long exposures, sunrise/sets, etc. Just go and try them out then look at what you like and don't like about them and go take some more.

For portraits- start with family and friends - people you know- and again build up techniques on what you like and what you don't.

You can always post on here for critique in the feedback section- most comments I've seen are constructive.

Good luck
 
Axemaniac88 said:
If you are really stuck for ideas of things to shoot, hop on to google images and do a couple of search for some places local to you to see how others photograph them. I'm not saying to blatantly replicate their shots but it will give you ideas of different approaches to take than those you probably had in your mind.
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This is pretty much what I was talking about. I look at shots and think that's something I would like to shoot. I go there not to copy but to put my own interpretation on it. This really has kept me busy shooting for a wail now and I highly recommend it.
 
Afgha said:
As a beginner, the biggest problem with photography I have is actually going out abd taking photos.

I must have had a DSLR for 2 or 3 years now. I'm always reading up on photography, either looking at photos or reading tutorials, online or in books. But whenever I take my camera out anywhere, my mind goes blank on what shots to take. For some reason I always end up taking photos of doors, Street signs or if I'm on holiday, typically touristy type shots.

Did/does anyone else have this issue and if so how did they overcome it.

I went on a beginners course last month just to try and learn a bit more and get out and do something. Typically I'd already read most of what the instructor taught and when we went out I ended up taking photos of doors and Street signs.


I'm going to try and get out more over the next few months but I know I'll end up struggling to pick a subject to take photos of.
Click to expand...
 
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Have had the same problem,i dont like buildings, portaits or taking pictures of people find it all rather boring, however i find the sky can be interesting with cloud formations,sunsets etc and am doing some bird photography at the moment i think its a bit more of a challenge taking things you'll not see again and things that move and wont pose for you.
 
Have a look on Pinterest or even just Google for photo challenge sheets. They will often be for a certain month, and will give you a theme for each day (or sometimes just a list of themes to try). Its then up to you how you interpret those themes. I found they helped me think outside the box more, and i sometimes revisit them to come up with different variations on the themes.

Like this http://www.laurenwestphotography.com/2011/31-day-photography-challenge-for-july/
 
Or look in the community section on the forum and hey involved in a 12, 52, 365 challenge. People of all levels do it and it'll help to give you some direction in your subject
 
End of the day, the camera is merely a recording instrument. It records a scene.
Its like owning a type-writer.. it doesn't automatically make you a best selling author! And you might be a very good typist and have an incredible words-per-minute rate, the words to be typed still have to come from some-where, and there has to be a reason for putting them on paper... some-one should be expected to read them!

Back to the camera:Before pressing the shutter; ask yourself WHO is going to want to look at this photo? and WHY are they going to be interested in it?

Who are you taking photo's for? If you are taking them just for your own amusement... we're getting some-where... next question; WHY are you going to be interested in them? What's the point? Whats the interest? Why are you going to want to look at it?

I'm interested in motorbikes; I don't necesserily want a photograph of every one that passes me in the street! Ones that I want a photograph of are the interesting ones; the rare or unusual ones; customised ones; or ones doing something unusual. So I dont go out randomly into the town centre and hope to find something that interests me; I'll go to a bike-meet, a rally or a race. Somehwere that theres something going on that interests me, and I am likely to see something I might want to take a photo of to look at another time.

You have to make the opportunities, and go find the stuff that interests you, that makes interesting photo's. Its down to planning. Interesting stuff that makes interesting photo's doesn't just happen because you have picked up the camera and want it to! In fact as often the converse! Pick up the camera and interesting subjects shrink into the shaddows or hide behind hands!

And sod the tutorials and example pictures. You cant expect to make top-notch inspirational photo's as a raw newbie. You are going to take a lot of pretty mediocre pictures. We all do... we just dont put them on public display!

So go do stuff, go see stuff that interests you. And dont be bothered about taking photo's UNLESS you see something WORTH taking a photo of. Its a secondary persuit. Photo's for thier own sake are usually wuite boring and frequently look forces or pretentiouse. So just work on going seeing stuff, doing stuff; photo's come second. But WILL come naturally, as a result.
 
I must be the exact opposite
I'm just back from holiday and shot a huge variety of stuff. Some street photography, portraits (some with flash), seascapes, landscapes, went to a wildlife park for some animal portraits, action shots of the birds of prey, the odd abstract, some skies and textures I might use in photoshop etc etc
Just give me more time to play, and I'll be off somewhere shooting something, even though a lot of my average week is spent in studio doing portraits
Set out looking for a target, reflections, shadows, contrasts, colour, whatever and once you get going it all becomes a bit more second nature
 
Set yourself a project, or just go for a walk in the country side, there's lots of flowers starting to appear and insect flying around. I've been out today and taken lots, I found a nice hidden waterfall which I got lots of angles on. Maybe try a sunset/sunrise shot. Do you have a tripod? try some long shutter shots from a motorway bridge. Visit National Trust/English Heritage places.

Hope that helps.
 
Best thing you can do is take a few pictures and see what you enjoy the most, don't do what i did to start to with and listen to all this purple fringing, ca, pixel peeping, l lenses and all these reviews of cameras,lenses etc etc. lot of rubbish imo unless your a pro (maybe?) and even then they only take pictures like everyone else and do they do anything you cant ???? its a photograph at the end of the day and that's all it is, whoever takes it so don't get too serious about it. Its like a painting if you don't like it then you don't like it and don't get hung up on needing expensive lenses, i've no doubt a £7000 lens is going to be far better than a £200 lens but in real terms are you getting £6800 worth of difference? I doubt it .Enjoy what you have and you'll find your way and take it from there
 
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Ive been back taking photos for just on 12 months now, aside from touristy photos on holidays.

I like looking at other peoples photos and started out myself by trying to capture something similar, sure it wasn't going to be as good but it helped.

Then I discovered macro photography - close ups of flowers, bees etc and a whole new world became visible.

Between this and landscapes these days I take most of my photos.

Remember for a lot of us its just a hobby and its no point participating in a hobby if you don't enjoy it.
 
One of the best sites that I found when I started taking pics again with my 1st digital camera was a site called Fujimugs. Despite the name it is no longer just for people with Fuji cameras. ;) My 1st digi cam was a Fuji, and I found the site via the Fuji forum on DPReview, which was a very active community at that time.

The good thing about the site is that there is a new photo challenge every 2-3 weeks, and only photos taken during the challenge period are eligible to be entered, so encouraging people to go and take some pictures, and not use an appropriate pic you may have on your computer. The voting is anonymous, so the image stands up on its own merits, and so shouldn't be influenced by who took the picture.

But winning or not is not the reason I recommend the site to people, it is the that there is a different challenge every couple of weeks, and it gets you doing things that you may not have considered. You see how others have interpreted the same challenge. You can ask questions of the other people who have entered and hopefully learn something.

And for those that say they are bored and don't know what to take pictures of, Fujimugs are currently up to challenge #173, and so there are 173 ideas for taking pictures, and counting. ;)

I think it also points out that it is not all to do with the gear used. There have been many excellent pics over the years, and for the first few years of the challenges, it has been going since 2003, the images were taken with compact and bridge cameras, technologically nothing near what the average person has to take pics now, :eek: :shake: :lol: and there were some excellent images.

I don't enter as often as I used to, but I always encourage anyone, but beginners in particular, to try Fujimugs because I know it pushed me to improve. I learnt a lot from other people, I got inspired by seeing what others were doing with similar gear for the same challenge, seeing, and asking, how people did what. And it got me taking pics of subjects that I wouldn't have considered. :shrug: :thumbs:

Worth a look for anyone who wants to be inspired to try something different. :thumbs:
 
It always helps to have interests outside of photography so you can then combine the two of them together at the same time, eg; fishing, hillwalking, sports, bird-watching, people-watching, cooking, etc, etc. I feel if you are passionate about something, then that passion is going to show in your photographs of that particular subject.

Also, instead of just lifting your camera bag and going for a walk, first of all have a specific idea in mind of what you want to capture that day, be it a nice sunrise/sunset, panoramic scenic shot, strangers in the street, etc. That is a sure-fire way to keep you more focused and to stop your mind from going blank - you already have your idea-bank primed!

And if you don't have a particular hobby/interest to combine with your photography, then maybe you go onto flickr or something and have a look through the 'Explore' section to see if anything there can give you a bit of inspiration?

Good luck with it anyway!
 
Stop walking around looking for things to shoot, and think of a project. Any other hobbies you can document? Anything interesting happening in your area?

Look at other people's work you admire... work out why you like it.

Plan your images before hand.

That all works for me, and works for others I've given the advice to as well.
 
Don't know what gear you have currently but walking around there is always stuff to shoot if you look closely enough. Things such as a ND110 filter, a fast lens [50/1.4] a macro lens can all help you to branch off into different styles/areas.

Do a project..... A-Z? Numbers? Colours? Abstract? Shapes?

I don't consider myself to have an awful lot of gear compared to most but I do think I have enough to cover most of my interests & give me something to shoot at least if plan A fails.
 
LeeRatters said:
Don't know what gear you have currently but walking around there is always stuff to shoot if you look closely enough. Things such as a ND110 filter, a fast lens [50/1.4] a macro lens can all help you to branch off into different styles/areas.

Do a project..... A-Z? Numbers? Colours? Abstract? Shapes?

I don't consider myself to have an awful lot of gear compared to most but I do think I have enough to cover most of my interests & give me something to shoot at least if plan A fails.
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There's a lot of good tips on this thread. I've just bought a 50/1.8 lens and my next lens will probably be a macro lens.

I've downloaded the PDFs on the Going Candid thread http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=5595085#post5595085

and they contain some great inspiration. One of the things he mentions is going out and shooting objects that are a specific colour.

The main thing is, I've got to pick my camera up and go out with it.
 
gaz_jameison said:
It always helps to have interests outside of photography so you can then combine the two of them together at the same time, eg; fishing, hillwalking, sports, bird-watching, people-watching, cooking, etc, etc. I feel if you are passionate about something, then that passion is going to show in your photographs of that particular subject.
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Even other peoples interests can be interesting.
Any-one in your family do anything photo-worthy?
Maybe, there's another idea... have a photo-party!
Book a bouncy castle, or organise a picnic... invite all those people you never get round to going to visit; instant photo-material, and a great day out for all.
A camera is an excuse to go do stuff; stuff to do is agood excuse to crack out the camera.
 
Best way I have found is set yourself an assignment each week, i.e Sunsets, the next week macro of flowers, the next week churches etc.

Join Viewbug and enter some of the comps.
 
I've been taking pics of the wife out Eventing for several years now and i quiet enjoy the Equestrian side of things. I've only recently purchased a camera that can do the job nicely, although that said the old Sony A100 i had did a pretty good job for a while, even though technology left it behind long ago. Now i have a camera i feel i can work with its rekindled the hobby a little more. I am quite keen to do a wedding or two in the future, i do enjoy taking portraits although i don't claim to be very good at them...Maybe one day i'll get to have a crack at it. i think you just have to have a hobby or share a hobby where you can actively keep shooting a few times a week and just keep at it.
 
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I'm not a beginner but I often find myself asking the same question as you. I've thought about concentrating on portrait photography as my main subject matter. Something to improve upon with the option of maybe earning a bit of money too.
There's a portrait course on at the moment at Blackburn college. I've heard good reports about it so plan to do the next course later in the year.
 
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