Abstract Photography

There are many ways of photographing everyday objects to give them a completely new and unfamiliar look. Try taking photo in abstract way; sometimes the images may be so transformed that the picture becomes abstract or surreal. To achieve such an effect calls for an eye for composition and an understanding of how the image will appear on film, rather than how it looks to the eye.
 

One example is a moving object such as flag fluttering in the breeze. To the eye it simply looks like a moving flag. It is not blurred, nor is it frozen into a particular momentary shape; however, if it is photographed it will appear in one of these ways. If a fairly slow shutter speed is used, and the moment is well judged so that the flag falls subtly into the frame, a strikingly dynamic image will result. A fast shutter speed could freeze the flag into a sharp image, but in comparison this will look stiff and lifeless.
 

This is only one example of seeing in an abstract way. Other images can be created by selecting part of an object, for example a building, which in isolation forms an abstract shape. Often the most ordinary objects or views can take on an abstract quality when viewed from a new angle.


There are no hard and fast rules as to what makes a good abstract picture. An acute eye will see the photographic potential in any scene.
 

More about camera shooting techniques