It’s a fact that taking a walk leads to more creativity, and we’re really big fans of doing a photo walk. So when we found out about this, it made us think that the only natural genre that forces you to go around and walk is none other than street photography. You may be shy, but that’s easy to get over. And even if you aren’t, there are a multitude of reasons why we’d recommend street photography over anything else when it comes to getting more creativity–especially for those of us in big cities although even living in the suburbs can lend itself to lots of options.
Here are the reasons why street photography is so great for creativity.
You See New Things That You Haven’t Seen Before
The world around you is constantly changing and every time you go outside, it’s easy to find new things as long as you pay attention to them. Unfortunately people are accustomed to tuning out information that isn’t important to them. So what you’ll need to do is just look closer each time you’re outside.
So how does this help you creatively? Maybe try documenting your new finds or you can keep the idea in the back of your mind for some sort of idea later on that may not apply to street photography.
You’re Opened to a Number of Genres All at Once
When you go into the streets, you get lots of potential subject matter and content to choose from. Here are some examples:
– Landscapes: city blocks, streets, fields, etc.
– Portraits: It’s really not tough to ask someone for their portrait if you approach it the right way.
– Candids: Look for the most candid moments out there.
– Fashion: This is quite literally how the Sartorialist got started.
– Sports: If there is a game of some sort, ask permission to photograph it.
All of this can happen while you’re out in the streets shooting.
Lots of Stimuli Will Get Ideas Going
If you’re inside, then you’re contained to a small area that won’t really give you any new ideas, but if you go outside then you’re opening yourself to new ideas all the time. You’ll find new and interesting things everywhere like what people are wearing, how people move to form interesting shapes, different light, shadows, etc. There are so many different things to see while out in the streets that will look different; and it’s up to you to use your imagination to find these things.
It Forces You to Try Different Things to Get New Perspectives
Street photography teaches you a harsh lesson about how mundane your work can become if you’re simply doing the same things over and over again. This reality will either get you depressed or force you to try new things and new perspectives–like shooting low, high, overexposed, underexposed, or with a different creative style that can become fun and get creative juices going again.
You Learn That Not Everything is Perfect Because You Screw Up So Much
Street photography will also teach you another harsh lesson: that you’re going to screw up a lot. In your mind, the images you may create could be screw ups, but in someone else’s mind, they could be amazing. This will either teach you to creatively embrace flaws or force you to critically look at your problems and figure out a creative solution.