CREATIVITY EXERCISE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS: Water

Here in Melbourne, we’re back in lockdown…again! I obviously can’t shoot any client work, so I try to use this time at home to push my creativity, improve my skills and continue with my personal work. All of which is easier when you do it with others! So to help keep me accountable, I thought it would be fun to do a group creativity exercise and I’d love for you to join me!

Besides looking for the light (both literally and figuratively), when times are tough I head to my happy place…the beach. Being near water is good for my soul and lifts my spirits and I think we could all use a bit of that right now. So this week we’re going to shoot WATER.

I may love going to the beach, but I know I won’t be going everyday this week, but that doesn’t mean I can’t shoot water! Whether it’s winter or summer where you live, whether you have kids at home or not, whether you live near water or not, or whether you’re in lockdown or not, no matter your situation you can join in as there are options for WATER images everywhere!

A few ideas to get your brains churning:

• ocean

• lake

• pond

• rain

• bath

• shower

• glass of water

• sprinkler

• pool

• sink

• river

• puddle

• hose

• watering can

A few things to play with:

• Your Subject

  • Make images where the water is the main subject in your images and ones where it is a supporting character.

• Your Perspective

  • Experiment and move around…a lot! You can shoot straight at the water, shoot through it, go underwater, shoot from above, etc, etc! Just keep moving and keep experimenting.

• Movement

  • Play with both still water and moving water. Try pouring the water, splashing it or even drinking it.

• Your Shutter Speed

  • Experiment with different shutter speeds and see how the amount of blur and texture of the water change. Use a long exposure for a blurred water effect, and a fast shutter speed to capture the motion (i.e. the splash of a wave or water droplets in the air).

• Reflections

  • Still water will act like a mirror, while moving water will produce a less distinct refection, but instead offer a beautiful blur or colour.

I’ll be shooting and sharing my water images all week on my Instagram, and I’d love to see your images too! Be sure to tag me @jennyrusbyphotography or send me your image in a DM so I can see what you got up to and send some love your way.

Have fun, happy water hunting and happy shooting!