Creative Photography Ideas

50 Creative Photography Ideas to Try in 2024

Are you interested in creative photography ideas? The following ones may serve as an inspiration for your own unique picture compositions.

1. Play With Shapes

A very simple yet interesting example of cool photo ideas is to combine two totally different objects which have a shared feature. It may be the shape, color or anything else.

• View more still life photography ideas.

2. Spiral Light Photography

One of the variations of light painting photography is spiral light photography. To bring such unique photography ideas to life, you need to shoot at night and involve a torch. Stand in front of the camera and start spinning around while holding a beaming torch.

The captured angles will touch the floor or produce an illuminated path. Try using light-sticks or gels of various colors for the torches.

3. High-Speed Photography

For many shooters, high-speed photography is a rather challenging type. I believe that everyone made an attempt to take pictures of an object in swift motion at least once.

To realize these creative photography ideas, shoot with a camera capable of working at fast shutter speed. This way, you will “freeze” an actively moving object, even a plane or a train.

4. Light Trail Photography

With light trail photography, you can highlight an eye-catching item or composition. To make such ideas for photographs work, you need a moving lighting source. The key to successful light trail images is to use a long exposure.

Also, the scene for the shot should be really captivating; otherwise, you won’t achieve the desired result. Combine a picturesque place with the movements of lights and you are bound to get breathtaking images.

• Use a tripod to take perfect quality photos.

5. Light Graffiti

I am sure you have come across the pictures taken at night with a person drawing some stuff in front of the camera. For this kind of creative photography, bring a torch, a tripod, set a slow shutter speed and be patient.

The scene here matters a lot, so it should be attention-grabbing. Then locate yourself in front of the camera (it is better to have someone to help you) to paint away.

6. Long Exposure Daytime

If you are looking for dramatic and, at the same time, creative picture ideas, pay attention to a long exposure. When you concentrate on the camera’s shutter speed, you may affect any kind of motion in the shot. There exist many methods of how you can take advantage of this shooting style. For instance, you may use it to remove needless objects from the composition, like by-passers.

Moreover, it puts emphasis on the energy of moving objects, with water transforming into glass and clouds into streaks. The scene appears more captivating and the significant details are highlighted.

• View more about landscape photography.

7. Water Splash

For this idea, you will need a remote-controlled flash, a water tank, a black background and a tripod.

Install a water tank and a black background, then place a flash above the tank. Place the camera on a tripod and switch to manual focus mode.

With f/8 aperture and ISO 200, set the fastest shutter speed possible. So, throw the subject into the water and press the shutter button as soon as it touches the surface of the water.

• Use a black background to take perfect water splash photos.

8. Macro Photography

Macro photography is often neglected by many shooters. If you have an extension tube or a macro lens, you have an opportunity to take cool close-up pictures.

When realizing this still life idea, you may shoot whatever you want. We don’t inspect the items very closely in everyday life, that’s why such shots will look very out-of-the-ordinary.

• Check out my list of the best cameras for macro photography.

9. Crystal Ball Photography

Thanks to David Bowie and jugglers, crystal balls became popular. You can come up with plenty of creative photography ideas when shooting through a crystal ball.

In this way, you direct the way a person perceives the composition. It is presented simultaneously in a normal view and upside down.

• Read more about crystal ball photography ideas.

10. Water Droplet Photography

When you wish to shoot an ordinary object in an extraordinary manner, resort to water droplet photography. With its help, you can effectively take pictures of different products, food or realize creative photography packaging ideas.

You need to direct water drops at a height towards a bowl with water. The task is to capture the water splash.

For a larger splash, increase the height from which the water drops fall. You are free to customize the composition to your taste.

11. Oil and Water

Combining things that regularly don’t go together may result in fascinating still life photography ideas. For instance, it may be water and oil.

Since they can’t be mixed, you can add texture, form and shape even to an ordinary shot. It is a bright example of abstract photography.

Simply get some water, oil, a place to locate them and a bit of color. In this way, you may get not only stunning pictures but also outstanding artworks to hang on the wall.

12. Bokeh

Such a simple object as a crumpled piece of foil can easily become the basis for creative photography ideas. Place the subject on the glass and place a piece of dark material under the glass.

Use your hands to crumple regular kitchen foil, then spread it and place it as a background. Direct the light from the table lamp or any other source at the foil.

With the camera on a tripod, open the aperture as wide as possible. Light the foil using flash while shooting.

13. Try Some Motion Blur

You can get motion blur in a number of ways. As for me, motion blur is freezing the motion in the shot.

Take a picture of the subject moving or move yourself or the camera (also known as panning). I prefer capturing motion blur by adjusting slow shutter speed and showing the motion of the subject.

If you do it correctly, you can successfully implement cool photography ideas. For a better result, use a tripod.

14. Shoot Out of Focus

When done accidentally or on purpose, in both cases, I enjoy pictures taken out of focus. It is one of the greatest experimental photography techniques.

Do it just out of curiosity, to express your vision, play around and see what results you can get. To get a better idea of how to adjust your camera for such a result, you can check out recommendation on Photo Doto.

15. Find Reflections

An interesting example of fun photography ideas is to place the subject in front of the mirror or near water and take pictures of the reflection.

• Read more about urban photography.

16. Double Exposures

Double exposure is one of the best and most efficient ways to make your shots really stand out and bring them to the next level of creativity. The technique involves blending two pictures into one. Several recent DSLR models offer a multiple exposure mode. You will need to take some time to figure it out, but the result will be undoubtedly worth it.

17. Try Adding Words

One of the truly creative photo ideas is to make your shots speak in the literal sense. You may spell a certain word or a phrase with the help of candies, wires, spices, flower petals, paper clips or other small objects and photograph it.

Look for the items related to letters and associated with one theme, like spring, food, toys, space, etc.

18. Shooting Through Objects

One of my favorite easy photography ideas is to take pictures through objects in order to make the shot deeper and eye-catching. Capture some ordinary items, such as branches, pieces of fabric or leaves for an extraordinary and unique effect in the image.

19. Shadow Play

You may realize creative photography ideas with the help of shadow play technique. It is especially effective in cases when the sun is shining brightly and produces strong shadows on the ground and the surface of the objects.

Such shots will also look wonderful taken inside. Don’t be afraid to take pictures from unusual angles to experiment with high contrast between sunlight and shadows.

20. Have Fun with Patterns

As for photography ideas at home for beginners, find objects belonging to one group, for instance, vegetables, stationery items, candies, jewelry, etc. Gather them and put the camera on a tripod. Create a composition, beginning with larger objects and moving to tinier elements.

21. Create Smoke Art

Use smoke wisps to realize your still life photography ideas. For a more spectacular image, you may take advantage of shapes in Photoshop.

Firstly, take several smoke art shots and create a new document in the program. After that, copy and paste one smoke picture into this document.

Select the Screen option in the blending mode and reshape it using Warp Transform. Keep creating smoke wisps and merge other smoke images into a new picture.

22. Art of Refraction

The light is refracted as it passes through the water, and the objects behind the water vessels look deformed. This phenomenon may be used in creative images photography.

All you need is a few glasses, a flashlight, a tripod and a picture with a black and white pattern that you place in the background. Fill the glasses with different amounts of water and move the picture forward/backward to adjust the effect.

23. Yummy Landscapes

Use food as a subject! Here you will need toy figures of people and/or animals and an idea for the theme. The main thing is to create a narrative scene for the frame and use plenty of different food that may look like potential landscapes.

24. Address Photo Retouching Services

Today, a lot of photographers turn to trusted outsourcing companies, for example, FixThePhoto for image editing and creative photo manipulations. Such proven services are always the key to a quality retouch in a short time.

25. Include Chalk Drawings

One of the best creative photography tricks is to combine a simple sketch with an actual object. You may produce a new setting for an item just by drawing a few lines with chalk.

The variety of settings is endless; it all depends on your imagination. Just find chalk, a place to draw and think of a sketch.

I’m not good at painting at all, so I look for basic items. I won’t be able to turn candy into a magical castle. However, it won’t be difficult for me to draw a flaming trail and pretend that it is a comet.

• Use Chalk to take creative and colorful photos.

26. Flowers in Ice

Try taking macro “kitchen sink” shots for creative photography Instagram profile. You won’t have to invest a lot of money and will also create an incredible wall décor.

Visit a nearby auto or hardware shop and buy de-ionized or distilled water. After that, pour it into plastic reservoirs where you should freeze flowers.

They won’t stay in one place so attach them to the surface or increase their weight. The flowers have to be frozen under the water. Locate a block of ice on top of a transparent glass or bowl in a white plate or sink.

In this way, the light will be bouncing through from the bottom. Place a flashgun off on one of the sides, at a down angle directed at it, then photograph from the opposite side.

27. Rubik’s Cube

Creative photography ideas don’t require elaborate props, as you can simply use something lying in your drawer for many years and still get interesting pictures. For example, a good old Rubik’s cube.

If you don’t have any, go to the nearest store and get it (it doesn’t cost much). Remember the times, when you learned how to shoot various objects casting shadows.

A Rubik’s cube works in the same way, so you just need to select the proper angle to capture the interplay of shadows and light. Depending on your camera’s capabilities, you can get really captivating photos.

28. Recreate a Tilt-shift Effect

Many architecture shooters often resort to the “toy-town” effect, which appears when a powerful tilt-shift lens is used incorrectly. You can go another way and create something similar using PS capabilities.

Just keep a small part of a photo sharp, while the rest of the frame heavily blurred. To get a true-to-life picture, photograph from a high point on a sunny day to accentuate the model’s vintage look.

29. Steel Wool on Fire

This is a sample of unique ideas for photographs that require thorough preparation and utmost care at the shooting. Having a photo session at night, choose an open area without flammable objects nearby.

Take a metal whisk and put a ball of fine wire wool in it. Attach the whisk to a chain, fire the wool and start spinning it.

You will need an assistant and tripod to stabilize your camera. Set the exposure of about 15 seconds at f/11 at ISO 100.

• Read more steel wool photography ideas.

30. Right Time, Wrong Lens

It may seem a bit crazy at first, but if you really want to bring some fresh feel to your works, be ready to try such creative photography ideas. You need to take advantage of the lens that you never use for this particular photography genre.

For instance, a wide-angle lens is rarely used for shooting animals, but it is your ideal choice if you want to get unpredictable results.

31. Deconstructed Landscapes

A great way to show a landscape is to compose a photo out of several pieces. Just grab your camera and go for a 15-minute walk in any picturesque place.

Take as many photos as you wish. Don’t get carried away with complicate shooting techniques, advanced settings or gear. Make the process simple and enjoyable.

Just remember that you need to activate the Aperture Priory mode to realize such cool photo ideas. Once you return home, open Photoshop, create a grid there and combine several photos into one image with the help of Layers.

32. Minimalist Mono Landscapes

This is also a great hack for a landscape photographer. Having a gorgeous view in front of your lens, what’s the point of cramming it into one frame?

You’d better take a series of miniature shots at a long exposure and later merge them into one composition (either symmetrical or square). Not to be dependent on the time of the shooting, use a strong Neutral Density (ND) filter.

Having a camera fixed on a tripod is also a reasonable idea. Use a shutter remote to get sharp images.

33. Car Park Abstracts

To learn creative photography and perform interesting photo sessions, you don’t need to go to remote places or constantly work outdoors. You can select any location, even a car park, and take some truly catchy shots there.

As for the equipment – a regular DSLR with a standard zoom will do. Opt for simple shooting techniques and try to find interesting colors, patterns, shapes and textures to capture.

34. Naked Night Photography

If easy photography ideas aren’t something that interests you, then try shooting a model totally naked at night outdoors. Find a comfortable place and take advantage of the available light. No flashes, no tripod and no long exposures.

35. Optical Illusions

You have surely seen such images on the net when the relations between elements of different shapes and sizes are represented in such a way that viewers doubt their real proportions, the direction they move, etc. If you are for such creative picture ideas, you need to photograph a common object, making it look in interaction with a bigger object that is typically located in the background.

A small aperture, meaning a larger depth of field, helps achieve a more captivating effect.

36. With Colored Smoke or Smoke Bombs

Colored smoke will help take a fresh look at the image of witches, queens, forest fairies and other interesting characters from the Middle Ages.Smoke bombs give an opportunity to make photo sessions in a futuristic style more dynamic and intense.

With such cool photography ideas, original photo shoots in the Gothic style will become even more stunning and a little frightening.

• Use Colorful Smoke Props to take creative portrait photos.

37. Using Drone

Since aerial photography is gaining vast popularity, there are lots of creative photography ideas that you can realize using specifically a drone. With a copter, you can show one and the same scene from an absolutely different perspective.

Why not capture dynamic moments of people having fun at a beach, climbing mountains or playing football from above with the help of a drone? The GPS mode will help get a sharper shot, while bigger altitude contributes to a stunning viewpoint.

• Look though these drone photography ideas.

38. Street Style Portraits

Street style photography is frequently used to show the fashion trends at this particular period of time. Primarily, look for the colors, either striking or surprisingly neutral. Then pay attention to the structure and cut of the clothing.

Don’t concentrate solely on the attire, but mind the surroundings as they must match the creative photo ideas you are going to realize.

39. Neon Portraits

One of the most popular creative photography techniques among portrait shooters is adding neon lights into the frame. You can photograph a person near a bright red sign or a shop window and get a truly memorable picture.

To eliminate shadows, use reflectors and take advantage of photo editing tools if you need to lighten certain parts of a photo.

• Read more about how to realize neon photography ideas.

40. Take My Hand

One of the easiest photography theme ideas. Photographing 2 people walking hand in hand helps tell a certain story and evoke positive emotions.

41. Underwater

You can get interesting shots taken against the sea background or in the rain, but underwater photographs look especially mesmerizing. In addition to unique poses for pictures, a photographer must prepare the necessary equipment and discuss everything with models.

Water itself helps create unusual images, playing with fabric and hair.

42. Near a Deserted Building

Pictures in deserted buildings are stylish andinteresting. Although such an idea appeared a long time ago, it is still relevant. To make your photoshoot original, carefully think the model’s look and creative photography poses over.

Mystical and Gothic themes suit abandoned buildings perfectly. Some people like the punk look, combining fun with aggression and negligence.

Moreover, negligence should be visible in everything: in makeup, hairstyle, clothing.

43. Sunrises and Sunsets

If you need creative photography ideas for self portraits, mind this one. Having sunset or sunrise as a background is awesome, just choose the appropriate pose and shoot from a nice angle. Silhouette pictures look absolutely original.

But you need to practice the poses before the shooting. Play with your hands in order to “touch” the beauty of nature.

• Read more about female poses.

44. Childish Fun

The expression "adults are big children" is easy to prove using a thematic photoshoot. Surely, you had some plans in the childhood that you haven’t realized yet – ride from a high children’s slide, run barefoot in the sandbox or fly a large kite.

45. In the Village

Want unique photos – go to the village. Engage anything and anybody that catches your attention. If you're on the field, capture the hay, for example. Also, you can include a child in this photo.

• View more family portrait poses.

46. Light and Shadow Interplay

One of the most helpful photography tricks that help make a photo of a pretty girl catchy and creative, is to use light and shadow interplay.

Whether it’s the color patterns of a stained glass lamp standing nearby, the hard shadow of a sheet falling on the model’s face or the distinctive light stencil that outlines her bone structure, all this adds “something special” that we usually look for in portraits.

• View more about shadow photography.

47. Shoot Through the Prisms

Searching for portrait creative photography ideas, you have probably heard about prisms. A shooter needs to locate a prism in front of a lens. As a result, you will get a spectacular reflection and add a glare effect to the portrait.

• View more portrait photography ideas.

48. Backlight Portraits

One of the best portrait photography ideas is to use backlighting techniques. You need 2 light sources and a decent light meter to get nice a lighting set-up.

49. Focus on One Part of the Body

Use a lens with a large focal length or get close to the subject so that you can photograph only one part of the body.Shooting hands, eyes, mouth, or even the lower part of the body will leave a lot of space for the viewer’s imagination.

50. A Series of Shots

Creative landscape artists often use this idea, though you can try it for other genres. Switch the camera to the burst mode and take several photos at once. Thus you can create a series of pictures that can be presented simultaneously, instead of a single static photo.

FREEBIES for Editing Creative Photos

After you manage to bring to life your creative photography ideas, it is high time to give your works a professional finishing. Download presets, actions and overlays presented below to cope with the task faster.

Double Exposure Photoshop Action "Three Color"

Mix your portrait photos with landscape/cityscape shots in several seconds with the help of this action. The results can’t but impress.

Color Action Photoshop "Aqua"

Have a picture with many blue shades? Enhance the coloring and overall mood by dint of this PS action. For minor adjustments, use the “Hard Contrast” action from this kit.

Photoshop Bokeh Overlay "Mirror Glows"

Think that your photo will look better with a bokeh effect? Then apply this overlay. Your picture will acquire glowing lights evenly scattered across the entire frame. Decide on the type of effect (Christmas tree, street lanterns, glistering water, etc.) that suits your images most of all.

Free Lightroom Preset Portrait "Contrast"

A universal preset for all studio portraits. It helps correct lighting and white balance, as well as smooth the skin tone.

Free LR Preset "Apricot"

If your image was taken in bright sun, you will surely need this preset. It will improve blue shades and make other colors more natural. You can freely combine this preset with other filters from the pack.

Tata Rossi

Hi there, I'm Tata Rossi - a professional blogger, read more