Wednesday, May 14, 2008

250 Photography Themes

photographyStuck for photo inspiration? In a rut? Why not pick a specific theme to focus your attention? Sometimes limitations are good. Read on for over 250 photo themes to get your gears turning again. Pick one at random and go out and shoot with that theme in mind.

the human environment
local streetscape
famous places
bridges
the automobile
planes & trains
cooking
dining out
urban macro
children
elders
in the workplace
paganism & religion
city hall
at home
abandoned and discarded
high tech
the hospital
paint
advertising
steel & glass
sports
shopping
music
sculpture & monuments
paths
vacation
bath-time
humour
skyline
neon
graffiti & street art
churches & graveyards
metal
travel
signs
party time!
family
student days
fashion shot
crime and crime-fighting
other photographers

seasonal
Christmas
Easter
Labour Day
Hallowe'en
Festival of Light
New Year's Day
spring
summer
autumn
winter
time

nature
sky and cloud
water in motion
underwater
weather
wild outdoors
nature macro
domestic animals
wildlife
at the park
mountains & valleys
in the garden
play of light
hands
eyes
hair
arms and legs
flowers
trees and wood
fog and mist

time of day
sunset
sunrise
morning
evening
twilight
night

emotions
peace & tranquility
strife & war
happiness
sadness
love
hate
power & control
solitude
friendship
death & rebirth
fear & unease

form & techniques
circles
movement
openings
barriers
filtered
simplicity
long exposure
flash
illusionist
double exposure
self-portrait
HDR
chaos
repetition
photojournalism
contrast
symmetry
spirals
reflection
distortion
the S curve
Rule Of Thirds
in the movies
negative space
upside down
depth of field
unusual perspective
vanishing point
texture
silhouettes
shadows
exactly seven
out of place
transparency
trashed and grunge

colours
red
orange
green
yellow
blue
violet
mostly black
mostly white
complementary colours
contrasting colours

To get in excess of 250 themes go back and do all of these again in black and white... except the colour category of course!

Happy shooting.

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12 comments:

Dave - Photography Forums said...

Great themes, You should add a few example images for each theme so people can get an visual idea as well.

robin said...

Ha ha! Good one! A few images each would be -- what -- over a thousand image uploads?

I'll leave this as an exercise for the reader. :-)

Anonymous said...

this really helped me get some awesome ideas to start my photographic journal, thanx:)

Anonymous said...

These are very good themes, a lot of which I realized ae part of everyday life. Thanks!

Praveen Kumar said...

Hello Robin,

Thanks for this list of themes. I found it when searching through google. I will certainly keep this list handy for my own edification.

I would like to know if it's permissible to post this list, along with a link to this article, in a Flickr group comprised primarily of members in Delhi, India.

Thanks.

Praveen

robin said...

Praveen: Why not simply link to it? But in any case go ahead and use it, with credit, according to the "Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Generic" licence that is referenced in the footer of every page.

Anonymous said...

yah you should add pictures. it would complete these themes. although visual ideas are up to the artists eye, lets see what you got.

mouli said...

Themes were very useful but you should keep some sample's as w'll .....

JoelWesley said...

Love this! Very helpful!

EphemeralMe said...

Thank you for some great ideas.
Hope to post some when I try these out.

Anonymous said...

helped me with me year 12 folio ideas!

Anonymous said...

Another thing you could add is a lunar eclipse, and solar eclipse.

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