Best Photography Themes Part 2

Black and White

Black and white photography (whether it be film or digital) has a unique beauty. It is one of the oldest and broadest photographic themes out there.Highlighting form and shape, a black and white theme removes the distraction of color. It reinforces the subject matter and the photographic process.

Colour

Through evolution and culture, color has developed strong ties with our emotions. Red is linked with passion and love. Blue is the color associated with sadness. Colour photography speaks to our visual understanding of the world.

Texture

Texture describes the touchability of the environment we live in. We can instinctively develop a sense of how textural something is just by looking at it. Think of old walls, stones, grass, textiles. Capturing texture cultivates an exchange of information that crosses the boundaries of verbal communication.

Aerial

Sometimes, to tease out inspiration, a new perspective is needed. Aerial photography involves the use of an aircraft or drone. You want to capture the world from a bird’s eye view.

Line

It may not sound exciting, but the possibilities of lines are endless once you start to look. Curved, straight, coloured, jagged, leading, broken. Lines behave in a multitude of ways, providing the eye with a path to follow throughout the image. Try capturing jerky lines to provoke an energetic reading or cool curves to denote a sense of fluidity.

Nature

If you are feeling stuck in a rut, adopting a photographic theme based around nature can be really beneficial. A natural theme encompasses a wide range of subject matter and techniques. This means there is plenty of room for creativity.

Pattern

Defined by the repetition of elements in a photograph, pattern can be found both in nature and in man-made forms. Even a group of images based on disrupted patterns cultivates a theme through the subversion of repetition. Keep an eye out for repetitious details (colors, shapes, specific subjects) that can tie an image together.

Macro

Macro photography centers around revealing the intricate beauty of our surroundings. Whether you have a macro lens, a set of extension tubes or reversing rings, you can do macro photography.Use insects, flowers or eyes to create a visual study of the unnoticed or unseen.

Food

Food provides us with the energy to go about our daily lives. It also makes for tasty photography themes. Food can be photographed in a studio, at home or out and about. This makes it a great photographic subject. You could even try flat lay photography. Document the ingredients going into your meal. Bon appetit

Self Portraits

Self portraits are a great theme to adopt if you’re looking to work on your portraiture technique. You’ll be able to apply practical skills to a readily available model. What better excuse to let your light shine both in front and behind the camera?

Abstraction

Instead of photographing figurative subject matter, abstract photographers rely on things like light, color, and texture to impart an emotional impression. Abstraction is a great theme because it’s free from the tethers of the literal.

Street

Street photography as a theme can be a challenging but rewarding experience. Master photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Maier and Saul Leiter have all worked predominantly in the field of street photography.

Night

Night time photography covers a wealth of photographic techniques and methodologies. Light trail, star trail, or even street photography can come under the heading of night photography.