Understanding how to create truly unique pictures will enable you to showcase your true, authentic nature. At first this seems impossible, but what I’ve discovered will impact significantly on your own creative photography.

Making unique pictures requires vision, creativity and a willingness to experiment. You may have to endure inclement weather and embrace beauty, in what many might consider banal subject matter, in your quest for truly unique pictures.

If I was to define this image I’d say it was an abstract photograph that explores the following:

• Mystery

• Shape

• Silhouette

• Movement

I consider it to be an evocative image that, due to it’s sepia-like color, is imbued with a sense of nostalgia and timelessness.

It’s a very common scene, but the angle and color of the light, and the way the photo was made is what makes it unique.

Unique Pictures Of The Landscape

I was running a photography workshop in Central Victoria and escorted the group to the Barkers Creek Reservoir near Harcourt for the final location of the day.

The location itself is not particularly remarkable, though it does lend itself to interesting and, potentially, unique photography opportunities at the edges of the day.

After sunset the warm light lingered and reflected, from beneath the horizon, up into the clouds from where it reflected back down onto the water.

The low light level required a slow shutter speed. I had my tripod with me, so that wasn’t a problem.

In fact it was an advantage as the slow shutter speed enabled me to produce a lovely glowing fluidity in the water, which I find to be quite ethereal.

The Problem with Auto ISO

This is one example of where Auto ISO can be problematic.

Under normal circumstances the low levels of illumination would prompt the camera to automatically increase the ISO to arrive at a shutter speed that might produce a sharp photo handheld.

But doing that would completely spoil the image.

I would have produced a photo where the water was sharp and, as a consequence, much of the mystery and uniqueness of the picture would have been lost.

As it is the tripod mounted camera allowed me to photograph with a slow shutter speed, to blur the water, while keeping the partly submerged tree branches sharply defined.

I think that duality between blur and sharpness is important to the success of this image.

Creating Unique Pictures Under Difficult Conditions

Despite the low levels of light the scene was quite high in contrast. The resulting loss of subtle highlight and shadow details can be problematic for the photographer.

However, in this case, the distribution of light and dark tones throughout the scene proved beneficial as it enhanced the sense of three dimensional space within the image.

I also feel that the dark shapes provided by the tree branches and their reflections adds to the prevailing sense of mystery and melancholy in the image.

I do hope you enjoy the quiet beauty within this picture. While not a spectacular location the transient and transformational nature of the light produced a quite special opportunity for workshop participants.

All agreed it was a great way to end a fun and informative day.

As this image demonstrates creating truly unique pictures is based around the following criteria:

• Be there when the light’s right.

• Embrace beauty, even in what many would consider banal subject matter.

• Work hard to produce a visually striking composition.

• Be prepared to experiment by taking control of the shutter speed, aperture and ISO to create the image you perceive in your mind’s eye.

Unique Pictures and the perception of Beauty

Perhaps it’s time to consider where we are likely to find beauty in the landscape.

I love photographing exotic locations as much as the next person. But, like most folks, I haven’t always had the means to get to such places.

The solution is simple:

• Seek the exotic in the everyday

• Look for beauty in the banal

• Embrace the magic in your own neighborhood

Ultimately, your ability to create unique pictures is going to be dependant upon the way you perceive the world around you.

What you perceive as beauty may differ from more commonly accepted views.

Your mission then, should you choose to accept it, is to create images that celebrate beauty in subjects and scenes not commonly considered to fit that criteria.

This approach is at the heart of making unique pictures as you continue on your own creative journey through photography.

Great composition and technique, while important, play a secondary and supportive role in the creative process.

What matters most is your own, unique vision. Nurture and respect it and, soon enough, you’ll begin to trust your vision.

Over time you’ll follow your intuition and let your developing technical skills support your artistic endeavors.

That is the order of things and something that great artists have long understood.

Beauty Is All Around You

If you’re looking to make unique photos I believe it’s critical to cultivate the ability to be able to see beauty, wherever you are.

A key element in being able to do so is to ensure you make a point of recognizing beauty, especially when you find it in an otherwise mundane part of the world.

Practice makes perfect and, by making beautiful photographs in less than exotic locales, you’ll be so much more likely to be able to meet the challenge of making great photographs in more exotic parts of the world.

How to Create Unique Photography

To create unique photography of relatively mundane locations requires technical skill, a good eye for composition and, above all else, the right light.

Rolling up at the Barkers Creek Reservoir near Harcourt in the middle of a sunny day may not provide you with a great photo.

What’s more, as that’s when most other folk would photograph that location, it’s unlikely your photographs will be particularly unique.

Photography is very much about the transient, transforming and transcendental nature of light.

Naturally it’s important to try to ensure that your arrival at the location in question coincides with good lighting.

Either side of sunrise and sunset often provides wonderful opportunities for photography.

Just be aware that, due to the low light levels at those times of day, the use of a quality tripod or, at the very least, shooting on a high ISO will often be required.

The sun had well and truly set when I made this image of branches breaking through the surface of the water at Barkers Creek Reservoir.

Most of the group had packed up their cameras and were ready to set out for dinner. That’s likely because they associated this site with a sunset location, simply because it was around that time of day when we arrived.

But being aware of changes in the light and staying open to opportunities allowed me to see possibilities in this scene during the afterglow.

It was then simply a matter of creating a reasonable composition that was at least as much about line, color and reflection as it was about a bunch of otherwise uninteresting branches poking through the surface of the water.

Often the best images are made well before sunrise during what’s called the pre-glow or, alternatively, during the afterglow which, if it occurs, can take place well after sunset.

Just remember that a torch or headlamp is a good idea to allow you to see what you’re doing and help you find your way to and from the car when photographing very early or late in the day.

Inclement Weather Can Lead to Unique Photos

The reality is that the very best light often appears at the edges of, so-called, inclement weather.

This is such an important point that I wrote a special post on the subject. It’s titled Rainy Day Pics and Inclement Weather and I’m sure you’ll find it both useful and informative.

Come to think of it, a warm top and/or a fleece hat or beanie is also a good idea. I often use a fleece beanie to keep my camera and lens dry when photographing on a rainy day.

There’s no doubt about it, inclement weather can be challenging for outdoor photography.

But being prepared and properly attired can be enough to turn the process of photographing under less than ideal conditions into a pretty enjoyable experience.

Of course bad weather should mean you’ll be photographing well known locations with less people around.

That can be a definite advantage as it should reduce the likelihood of distracting elements appearing in your photo.

It’s often the willingness to embrace difficult conditions and the level of preparedness that separates the images made by a good photographer from the rest of the pack.

Needless to say good photographers understand how to utilize light, composition and story telling to make high quality, emotionally compelling images under all manner of situations.

But with practice and determination anyone can do it.

Unique Photography and the Creative Journey

It’s not unusual for the best and most unique pictures from a particular trip to me made at unscheduled stops along the way to your destination.

While it’s great to have researched a location I think it’s also important to stay flexible and respond intuitively to interesting photo opportunities that arise on route.

It’s said that life is a journey, not a destination. I completely agree with that statement and I think it’s very apt when discussing the nature and process of travel photography.

My advice is to stay alert, be active and embrace the experience in which you find yourself.

When it comes to making truly unique pictures I believe that approach will help set you up for success on your own creative journey through the art of photography.

Glenn Guy, Travel Photography Guru