How to Think Outside the Box

think outside the box

Taking a photograph of what’s in front of you isn’t exactly rocket science. But training your mind to think outside the box allows you to see past the obvious and into a dream world that only a community of creative minds could otherwise conjure up.

Yet thinking outside the box first requires us to understand what actually is ‘the box’? It’s a term we’re all familiar with, but when applied to photography, what are the conventional parameters we want to break?

Of course, the best way to begin is to test our expectations. For example, if we said ‘think of the Eiffel Tower’ what does that visual in your head look like?

Here’s the most popular interpretation(s):

• Full height ✔️
• In good weather ✔️
• Well exposed ✔️
• Evenly proportioned ✔️
• Colour ✔️

Doing your own ‘imagination research’ will help you picture easy common conceptions which in turn you can use a benchmark to overturn. Since we know what most people think when they picture the Eiffel Tower, here are some photos that show the photographer thinking outside the box to capture unusual views of a familiar landmark.

Can you see how those popular interpretations are being changed?

Colour Effects

But there are still more ways that you can think outside of the box. Don’t waste precious time researching other people’s shots if you’re busy. Instead, simply think about these 10 key questions that you should pose to yourself when taking your photographs.

2. Have you tried placing your subject in the background and create a foreground to draw an audience in?

4. Can you create controversy? Look for 2 competing scenarios that juxtapose each other adding humour, drama or sorrow for instance.

6. If you can direct your subject, a portrait perhaps, then direct them to do unusual poses or actions with everyday objects – reading a book in a swimming pool or writing a letter upside down. Don’t do the normal things conventionally.

8. When shooting with a shallow depth of field it is most common to set the focus point nearest to the camera.

But what would your shot look like if the focus was further away drawing attention to the back of the picture?

10. When it comes to composition, step away from the middle. Create negative space for your subject by pushing it to the side of your frame. Having a blank void offsetting a shot can add mood, drama, interest and space for…..a logo, advertising, headline – who knows!

In conclusion, all you need is a process to learn and rehearse every time you pick up your camera.

After a while of thinking this way then you won’t need to review a list anymore, it’ll just be instinctive. You’ll begin to look at subjects and think ‘how can I make you look different?’. 

Once you’ve been thinking outside of the box for long enough it’s time to start sharing those creative approaches with the iPhotography community. Upload them to the gallery.