2 Essential Steps for Making Your Photos Interesting and Creative

You may think that taking a picture is simply a matter of using a camera and clicking the shutter to capture a scene that you find interesting.

If it were that simple, we would be inundated with good and interesting photos. This is far from being the case. Most of the photos are just a repetition of photos already made. Few photos are innovative. Few photos are really interesting.

To help you improve the quality of your photos, I will share with you two essential steps for making your photos interesting and creative. This method consists in building the photo on the field and then creating a photo on your computer.

As you read this introduction, you may be surprised, and think that this is not important. You might think that you already follow these steps. However, I encourage you to spend a few minutes of your time to better understand this concept which I believe is essential to artistic photos.

Clouds in the sky over Yosemite National Park in California.

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The Story Behind This Article

Often, during my wildlife, landscape, or underwater photography workshops, when the photographers have achieved a higher level, I explain to them that the realization of a good photo passes through two stages which, in my eyes, are essential:

Construction on the field.
Creation with software on a computer.

For some of the trainees, this boundary is very difficult to define and perceive. For others who have become seasoned over time, it is a concept they have come to embrace.

Recently, during a course dedicated to the stag bellowing, I met a photographer who was never satisfied with the pictures he took in the field.

During the photo reviews, I would explain to him that his photos were excellent. Each time, I would explain to him that their construction was exactly what was needed. Each time, he would argue that his photos were flat, that they lacked contrast, sharpness and that the colors were not what he had seen in the field.

At the end of the third photo review, as I could not convince him of the validity of my remarks, I decided to show him an example. I selected two ambient photos in RAW format and the two developed photos in tiff format. He had a terrible shock. He was speechless. I explained to him that when I take a photo in the field, I try to identify its artistic potential. When a photo has potential, I develop it. If not, I delete it.

From that day on, I never heard another complaint from him. He understood what I meant.

Today I have decided to share with you this concept of building and creating a photo.

Prerequisites for Building and Creating Good Photos

Before we get into the concept of building and creating a nature photo, I think it is essential to remind you that you need to master two key concepts:

Your photographic why must be perfectly defined.
Your photographic approach must be crystal clear.

These concepts and tools are the guardians of your photographic creativity.

Your photographic why defines why you take pictures.

It will guide you throughout your photographic activity. I used to say that if you do not know where you want to go, you will never reach your goal.

You must know your photographic why by heart. It is like a mantra. At each photo session, it will accompany you in the field. It will guide you when you shoot. Without it, you will not be able to make interesting and meaningful photos.

Your photographic approach defines your photographic vision and your photographic signature.

These two elements define the way you see the world around you and the way in which you edit it.

Your photographic approach helps you to create photos that look like you. Your creations are unique just as you are unique. Having your own signature approach will help your audience to identify you and your work from the many other photos and artists in the creative sphere.

If you have not yet thought about implementing these two essential tools, I invite you to do so quickly. Your photographic creativity will be enhanced.

Why and How : Defining Your Photographic Why.

The Definition of the Verb "To Build"

One definition of the verb to build is:

to make something by putting the various parts together.

Application to Photography

Theoretically, building a photo in the field seems like a simple act. All you must do is choose photographic elements and then assemble them together to make something incredible.

But it is that something that needs to be defined. It is the most complex and difficult element.

Before I go any further, I will explain what I think are the two main photographic models.

The First Photographic Model: The Realization of Unique Photos

The first photographic model consists in making unique photos. This type of photo is intended for competitions, social networks, for short reports.

In this model, the photographer focuses on making photos that have visual impact. The photos may tell a story, but it must be simple and easy to understand by the viewer.

The realization of a unique photo whether for a contest or social networks obeys one rule. You must photograph the never seen, the exceptional in behavior, and the unexpected. The photos must be spectacular and incredible. Visually, it must shock, surprise, and cause an immediate reaction in the viewer. It must be the kind of photo that someone sees and desires to share with others.

In this model, the photos do not have to be timeless. They just must catch the eye. I also classify reportage photos in this model.

The Second Photographic Model: Making Pictures That Tell Stories

I call this model: the model of photographic expression. In this case, the photographer must tell a fragment of history with each photo. He must express his emotions and transmit messages.

He must call upon his experience to speak photographically with a precise and well-defined photographic language.

The photos become timeless. They are a photographic testament.

Each photo must have a syntactic dimension, a semantic dimension, and an aesthetic dimension. The whole photo makes up the structure of a story, much like a plotline.

A Practical Method to Tell a Story with a Photo.

Pick Your Choice Between the Two Models

Whether you choose to make photos that are in model 1 or model 2, they will have that famous 'something' present in the foundations of a masterpiece. Your photo will have a defined purpose.

I know that these notions can appear a bit complex and arduous at first glance, but I can only share the broad outlines of my principles in a single blog post. I develop these concepts in a detailed and precise way during my photo workshops.

Let us move on to the second step of the photo-making process: the creation.

The Definition of the Verb "To Create"

How to Calibrate Your Screen for Printing Without a Colorimeter

Lights between the fog and trees in Yellowstone during the winter in US. Black and white photo by Amar Guillen.

Lights between the fog and trees in Yellowstone during the winter in the U.S.

Tip #5: Decrease the Brightness of Your Screen

You certainly know that a screen emits light while paper absorbs light. These two physical occurrences thus impact your photographs quite differently

Even if you calibrate your screen correctly with a probe, it is not a guarantee that your prints will be correct.

Calibrating your screen ensures that everyone who has a calibrated screen will see your photos the same way you do. That is all there is to it.

To use a printer properly, theoretically, you should calibrate it. This is what all professional labs do. Indeed, they print pictures that are different from each other. By calibrating their printers, they ensure that the red, green, and blue colors will be printed with the same value.

That is kind of the problem with general labs. They average out the colorimetry. Your prints will not be treated separately. They will be printed with the same settings applied to all the others. That is one of the reasons why I recommend that you use a personal printer, so that you can select the settings for each individual print and achieve the exact results you want.

You do not need to calibrate your printer. Here is the procedure to avoid buying a calibration probe for your printer.

Before printing, lower the brightness of your screen. Set a value between one and ten.
Be sure to save the value you obtained after calibration. You will come back to it after printing. For example, the calibration of your screen has set you at a value of 54. Lower this value to one between five and ten with the brightness control of your screen. Your picture will appear very dark. This is normal. You have in front of you the photo as it appears on your paper.
Now print your photo. You will probably notice that it is dark. If this is your first-time printing, this is normal. Do not worry about it.
Most photographers never print their photos. First impressions are often surprising.
Still keeping the brightness of your screen at a low value, you need to adjust the tone of your photo. Depending on the software you use to develop your photos, you can add some light. Personally, I use Adobe Photoshop to develop my photos. I add a curve adjustment layer. Then I increase the brightness of the mid-tones a bit, about 1.05. I will not go into detail about these operations, as they are out of the scope of this blog post.
Once you have increased the light in your photo, you print again.
You must repeat the process until the printout is correct.

If this is your first time printing, you will need to print four or five photos. This is quite normal.

Once you are satisfied with the result, you have obtained a printed photo whose lights are identical to the one displayed on your screen. Only judge the lights against your screen. This photo is a standard photo. It will always serve you as a baseline in the future.

If you reset the brightness of your screen to the value calibrated by your sensor, you will notice that your picture is very bright. This is normal. You must cancel the setting to return to the original photo.

For each printed photo, you have one photo for the screen and one photo for printing. Thus, you have two photos.

Moreover, this printable photo is valid for your printer.

If you send it to a lab, send the original screen instead. Indeed, if you send your corrected photo for printing on your printer, you risk receiving a bad print in return.

If you use a quality professional lab, they will do the brightness correction. This is part of their job, so you do not need to adjust it before.

Fine Art Collections In 1 Click.

Tip #6: Always Use Your Reference Photo

In the previous paragraph, I explained how to print correctly by lowering the brightness of your screen. The first perfectly printed photo is what I call a “master photo.”

When you print other pictures, you always use it as a reference.

The principle is simple.

Before printing a photo, you lower the brightness of your screen.
Then you place your standard photo next to your screen. You adjust the light of your screen to have the same rendering of the lights on the standard photo and on your screen.
All you need to do is modify the light of your photos to be printed so that the result on your printer is correct.

The reference photo allows you to always adjust the brightness of your screen to print correctly.

With this simple method, you can avoid buying a probe to calibrate your printer.

Tip #7: Use a Quality Professional Laboratory

In the previous paragraphs, I explained to you the interest of printing your photos with a personal printer. The advantage with this method is that you will learn to manage the tone and the light of your photos. You can believe me: when you print your photos, you photograph in a different way.

In the field, you will imagine your photos printed and you will understand how to use the light.

For me, it was one of the biggest shocks in my apprenticeship as a nature photographer.

When I worked for photo agencies or magazines, the screen calibration was sufficient. I delivered photos that were developed on a calibrated screen. It was up to those who bought my photos to make the adjustments to print them correctly.

When I decided to create nature art photos in 2010, I used a general lab to print the photos for my first exhibition. The printing cost was not high. I did a test with ten photos. I got my money's worth, but the photos were flat and the blacks were blocked. All my photos were dull, without any real interest. Yet on my screen, they looked great. I could not see myself displaying them at all. I still have these photos in a closet. They always remind me of that decisive step of printing.

After that disheartening experience, I decided to contact a professional lab that specializes in large photo prints.

This time I sent two photos for a 60 × 90 cm print. The result was extraordinary. I had real art photos. That is when I decided to buy a professional quality printer.

I started to run some tests. I realized how difficult it was to print photos. I then understood that being a shooter required a lot of skill and expertise.

When I print in my studio, I can produce excellent quality photos, which I can sell. But I am limited by the size. That is why I use two professional labs. One of them is in the United States in the state of Arizona and the other is in France for my European clients. It took me some time to select each one. I weighed many factors. Here is my method for working with a professional lab.

Develop photos with a calibrated screen.
Always run test prints in the studio with a personal printer. I do this for each photo.
Choose one or two photos that will be printed by the labs.
Using a reference photo provided by the laboratories, make the necessary adjustments to two photos.
I never let anyone touch up my photos. I want to remain in control of my entire creative and artistic process. The principle of the standard photo for the lab is the same as that of the studio printer. When I receive the final prints from the labs, I look to see if my processes are correctly adjusted. Usually there are no surprises.

If you use a professional lab to print your photos, I recommend that you use good quality paper. Do not hesitate.

Finally

I hope that this article has helped you understand that printing your photos allows you to experience real pleasure by seeing the end result of your photographic activity.

Printing your photos will also help you to progress in the field.

If you were to retain only one major principle from this article, let it be this: retain a standard printed photo as a baseline, whether you are using a personal printer or the services of a professional laboratory.

Remember that a photo only exists from the moment it is on paper. Before that, it is merely an image, an idea that exists digitally.