How to Be Original With Your Photography

In some sense, it is harder than ever to be a photographer producing truly original work. The world is absolutely inundated with images, and creating something that stands apart from the pack is quite the challenge. So, how can we be original with our images? This excellent video essay discusses the topic and offers some good insight. 

Coming to you from aows, this great video essay discusses how we can be original with your photography. All of us probably see hundreds or maybe even thousands of images every day. It might seem counterintuitive, but when you are in the midst of a creative project, it can actually be good to disengage from the imagery around you. It can be easy to unconsciously start to mimic whatever your mind is ingesting at the moment, and that can subsequently derail whatever creative vein you were following. It is absolutely important to digest imagery and to learn from and be inspired by other photographers, but once you are in the creative process, be sure your mind is free to focus deeply and solely on your own creative impulses. Staying off Instagram for a bit can do a lot of good. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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2 Comments

your eyes
you see through your eyes
make sure that you're looking through your own eyes - not someone else'

But I'm a psychic photographer! I take my pictures through other people's eyes. That's MY thing. In fact, several of the recent pics that you thought you took, they're actually mine.