Mar 7, 2017 / Beginner

Creating a Photograph vs. Taking a Photograph

The world offers no shortage of amazing subjects to capture through your lens. Learn how to see things in a new light.

a 28 minute long exposure of the stars above the deep woods of Maine
A photo of Stars trails captured at Kalalau Lookout on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

Star trails I captured at Kalalau Lookout on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”


— Elliott Erwitt

Who this post is for: Aspiring photographers or anyone who wants to learn how to take more creative photographs. No photo-editing software is required, just a desire to learn and experiment with your camera!

The world offers no shortage of amazing subjects and experiences to photograph. In 2017, it’s estimated that people will take nearly 1.2 trillion photos around the world. Many of these photos will be simple snapshots—photos defined as informal, taken quickly or spontaneously, and sometimes without thorough consideration of composition. In many cases, that’s all a situation calls for, but for many subjects it’s often prudent to dig a little deeper and get creative with your photographs. Many variables come into play that can shape the quality and perspective of your photos. Things like light, composition (how a subject is framed), depth, weather, shutter speed (duration of the exposure), and of course location, all play a part in creating unique and interesting photographs.

In this post I’ll delve into these different variables and showcase a wide array of photos in order to expose the world of possibility you can capture with your camera (or, in some cases, your smartphone). Take some time to explore different ways to capture scenes and subjects and I promise your experiences will be much more memorable and enjoyable.

Create a photo, don’t just take one.

Correct exposures vs. creatively correct exposures

In the world of photography the word “exposure” — which is derived from the days of film — is just a fancy way of saying “photograph.” Depending on the roll of film, photographers were often limited to a couple dozen or so “exposures” per roll, in other words, a dozen or so photos per roll. Even though many of us use digital cameras these days, “exposure” is still an accurate term since the camera’s sensor is exposed to light, which allows photographs to be captured.

More importantly, for the sake of this article, there’s a difference between a “correct exposure” and “creatively correct exposure.” Technically speaking, correct exposures are the way in which your camera’s settings (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) work together to capture a proper photo of what you’re seeing. Smartphones’ and cameras’ “auto” settings will always attempt to take a photo at the “correct” exposure.

A photo of Multnomah falls in Oregon taken by Caleb Jones

A photo of Multnomah Falls in Oregon.

Here’s an example of a correct exposure of Multnomah Falls in Oregon taken by Caleb Jones. In this gorgeous shot, we can see in the photo above that the light is well balanced and the waterfall appears to be frozen in time. The shutter speed of this shot — or the time the shutter was left open to allow light to be absorbed by the camera sensor — was a fraction of a second.

A photo of Multnomah falls shot by Blake Verdoorn

A long exposure photo of Multnomah Falls in Oregon.

This tutorial on Digital Photography School offers a lot of useful tips for creating long-exposure waterfalls shots.

Here is another, nearly identical shot of Multnomah Falls shot by Blake Verdoorn. Besides the coloring, can you spot the difference between these two exposures? In Blake’s photo, we can see that the water has more of a smooth, flowing effect. This particular creative effect is called a “long exposure,” which means the camera shutter stays open for a long period of time. This allows the sensor to absorb more light and catch more movement in photographs.

Long exposures are some of my favorite photos. We can really push the boundaries of reality when we get creative and involve time as a primary variable when creating photographs. Depending on the camera being used, we can take exposures from a fraction of a second to many hours. It’s incredible what can be captured when the camera shutter is left open for a significant amount of time. For these, tripods are usually required to hold the camera steady. And photos like these are also possible on some smartphones with the right apps.

A photo of bright stars above a forest in Maine

Stars shine bright above the deep woods of Brownfield, Maine.

In the summer of 2016 I spent some time in the deep woods of Brownfield, Maine, where the stars were incredibly bright due to a lack of light pollution from cities. This shot is both a long exposure (30 seconds long) and a correct one. The photo is nearly identical to how you would see the stars if you looked up in this same location. Since the night sky is often difficult to capture due to the lack of available light, it’s necessary to leave the shutter open for 20 or more seconds so the camera sensor can capture what our eyes can see.

a 28 minute long exposure of the stars above the deep woods of Maine

In the same location, I created this 28-minute exposure of the stars.

PetaPixel offers some great tutorials on capturing star trails.

Here’s where things get interesting. The photo above is not a manipulation, nor was it altered using image-editing software in any way — it’s a creative exposure directly from the camera. After I captured the initial photo of the stars, I set a remote timer to take this second one. Remote timers are necessary to capture exposures over 30 seconds for most cameras on the market today. In this shot, I left the shutter open for just over 28 minutes — 1700 seconds to be exact! That basically means that for just over 28 minutes light was continuously being absorbed by the camera sensor and being compiled into one photograph.

Looking to learn more about night photography? We’ve got you covered.

Due to the spinning of the earth on its axis, the stars appear to be moving as time goes on, creating light trails. This is called a “star trail” photograph. These are extremely fun to capture. With that being said, they require a lot of prior research and patience to obtain. Time of year, weather patterns, and moon orbital patterns all play a part in creating these type of photos — but that’s an article for another time!

Speaking of Research…

Location research and scouting is paramount to capturing creative shots for many types of scenery and subjects.

We can really push the boundaries of reality when we get creative and involve time as a primary variable when creating photographs.

  • Monitor how the scene or subject changes at different times of day. Even a few minutes can make a dramatic difference. Mood is powerful.
  • Weather plays a major role in scene differentiation as well. Overcast days are best for capturing light evenly, but you certainly can’t capture a great sunset shot on a cloudy day!
  • Experiment with composition. If you arrive somewhere and just snap a photo, chances are it’s not the best possible composition, nor the best angle. This is especially true for those really touristy areas and “scenic overlooks.” Explore the scene a bit to see what you can discover. But be careful and please don’t fall off any cliffs!
  • Add depth to your shots when possible. Even great scenes and subjects can easily appear flat in photographs. As an example, try blurring some bushes in the foreground and focusing on the distance (or vice versa) for a more realistic view of landscapes and subject matter.

A few examples of some of fantastic, creatively exposed shots

A photo of snow-covered trees are made more dramatic with the sun in the background

Snow covered trees are made more dramatic with the sun in the background.

Typically with snow-covered scenes, the sky is often dull and gray. However, snowy scenes can look extremely gorgeous and dramatic once the sun comes out, like this shot captured by Pigoff Photography. The trick here is monitoring weather patterns to see when snow storms are predicted to dissipate. Sometimes luck also plays a part!
A photo of the sun reflecting off the waves to create some wonderful patterns

The sun reflects off the waves to create some wonderful patterns.

Zooming in on waves during sunrise or sunset can make for some really amazing patterns, as we can see in this shot by Jeremy Bishop. If you’re feeling really adventurous, try some long exposure shots at the beach just as the sun dips behind the horizon—you’ll find that your photos resemble pastel paintings!
A photo of a surfer sitting on a surfboard on the beach

This photo of a surfer is made more interesting by adding depth between the subject and the background.

Bruce Wunderlich wrote up a wonderful article on how to understand and create great depth of field.

Depth can be used to make scenes far more interesting and less flat, which we can see in this photo of a surfer by Annie Spratt. This technique, referred to as shallow depth of field, is a favorite amongst most photographers. Thanks to recent advancements in smartphone technology, capturing exposures with high depth of field is easy.

This just barely begins to scratch the surface of what’s possible in modern photography when a little attention is paid to the world around us. Whether you have a smartphone, a point-and-shoot, or an advanced camera — so long as you’re up to explore and experiment, there’s no shortage of photos to be created! For digging deeper into creative exposures, I recommend the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

For more fun shots like this, feel free to subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram. See you out in the field, everyone!

Interested in cultivating a photoblogging habit? Check Blogging U., where we offer two courses designed for photography lovers.

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  1. Nice article, I went over and followed you on Instagram as well. So, this would be my question to you. How are you getting your photos that are not taken on your phone onto Instagram? I would be curious to know your method and perhaps you could even write a blog post about it?
    Cheers,
    Amy

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Absolutely! There’s a few various ways—I shoot with a couple of Fuji cameras. The X-t2, and the X-e2. Both of which have wi-fi hotspot capability. Meaning that I can transfer the photos directly from my camera to my phone and post it to IG. I also manage my photo library through the Adobe Lightroom program. It allows me to keep the hundreds of thousands of photos I have, organized. I can also make adjustments to the photos if necessary.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ok, thanks for this. I’ve been thinking though my workflow on this. I have Lightroom also, but have found that the mobile app doesn’t work properly on my phone. Highly frustrating, but also made me focus on the fact that I don’t want my huge catalog on my phone, so I am looking into how exactly I would like to approach it. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. I love the photos! And I like that you did write this article. The only thing that surprised me a bit was that exposure is used as photograph. I know many photographers in my area and none uses it this way, it simply means the (mostly right) amount of light. It’s fun to discover differences between photographers from many places 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

  4. like many i just have a point and shoot camera but I have found I do try to ‘make’a photograph 75% of the time. It can infuriate family especially when they whip out thier ‘smart’phones and snap away. I loved your advice and will put some into practice. thanks

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Haha. Yes this is something we all struggle with, so no worries. My friends and family all get angry if we go somewhere and my photos turn out better than theirs, even if we’re standing next to each other! lol

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Absolutely beautiful photos! As someone above mentioned, I was interested to read more about your definition of “exposure”, but I do understand what you mean in this regard. Thank you for sharing!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. i think it’s better to take photos because you get a chance to see beautiful things, but making them is just like ..lying or making things up

      Liked by 2 people

      1. I’m not sure I understand what you mean. These are created in the camera so you still get to experience beautiful things—even more so since you really take the time to appreciate what you’re looking at.

        Liked by 1 person

  18. I remember taking one of my favourite shots of a coastal scene in a creative rather than technical style. Another photographer commented that the whites were blown and I explained that this was part of the creative process and the image would have been bland without this. He did not agree so I guess that proves there are two schools of photography.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Absolutely. There’s photography that serves a purpose, such as architectural or wedding photography, and then there’s more “creative expression” photography. Depending on what’s being shot, arguments can always be made. What matters is what you’re happy with!

      Liked by 1 person

  19. My old dsl Sony has been neglected since my happy snapping with a smart phone. I will finish writing this comment and will go and charge it up. Thank you for the blog, it’s the kick up … …. I needed.

    Liked by 3 people

  24. Wonderful shots, but is not so easy with an elementary camara, how can you make your exposure largest, and so many doubts,

    Liked by 2 people

  25. Hi Jeff, great post….learned a lot from it. I LOVE photography, but have hesitated calling myself a photographer because I don’t really know the technical end and use a smartphone for most of my photos rather than a high-end camera. Really enjoy “capturing” shots as I go thru my day, sunrises, sunsets, unusual things, rainbows, etc. Have taken some really wonderful shots (in my opinion & those I’ve shown them too) but they most likely would not be considered “proper compositions” from a trained photography perspective. What are your thoughts on this?

    Liked by 3 people

    1. All that matters is your desire to take photographs—I wouldn’t worry so much about titles. I definitely don’t photograph on a pro level, but I still consider myself a photographer 😀 I’d love to see some of your shots!

      Liked by 1 person

  26. I loved reading this! The pictures are gorgeous, and the way you explained it all made a lot of sense. It got me wanting to go out and try some of what you suggested. Thank you!

    Liked by 2 people

  29. Great read! Very concise and the photos really helped illustrate your point. I’m just starting out and am self learning as a hobby haha will keep all these tips for next time

    Liked by 2 people