Abstract art, including abstract photography, has always flummoxed me! While I can appreciate the beautiful artwork or images I’m viewing, I confess that I don’t necessarily “understand” them.
However, I do enjoy making them and truly, it’s the creative process of capturing an abstract image and then finding ways to creatively edit it that challenges me to get outside of my comfort zone as a photographer.
As possibly the most “artistic form of expression,” abstract photography can transport viewers to places in their minds far from the ordinary day-to-day life.
I recently came across a description that I find most accurately defines it: “Abstract images are conceived or imagined outside of ‘reality’. They can encompass a huge variety of subject matter, take us out of our comfort zone, make us question what we see, or invite us to enter another realm.” **
Abstract photography crosses all genres regardless of your favorite subject matter or style. Learning how to apply the techniques for abstract images can benefit any photographer allowing them to move beyond the conventional image to one that springs from the imagination and expresses a truly unique vision and a one-of-a-kind photo.
Challenge Yourself
- Take an everyday object, photograph it in a new way and create an image that showcases it beautifully. This is a great way to jump-start your creativity and you don’t even need to leave your house.
- Hone your eye to find ordinary objects to transpose to creative artwork. What matters most is your desire to create and capture your photographic vision.
- You can use any lens in your bag. You can use your tripod or hand hold your camera.
- Photograph a subject from different perspectives. This can be accomplished by focusing on a tiny portion of a subject; shooting low, “worm’s eye view”, shooting from above “bird’s eye view”, using an extremely wide-angle lens to exaggerate the sense of perspective or using a telephoto lens to get in tight.
I enjoy the challenges of both the technical and creative aspects in forcing me to think outside the box, to troubleshoot the photographic process and shift gears on the fly as new ideas present themselves. Each time I take abstract photos I learn something new either about the camera, the limitations of a lens, that a different white balance resulted in a better image, and on and on.
I’ve also discovered something new about myself through my work capturing abstracts; I’ve found that I've become more determined to figure out a tricky “thing” on my camera or a set-up that has been baffling me. And I’ve learned how to look at the scene before me with “fresh” eyes, and how to be less of a control freak and let my imagination run the show!
The Rules of Composition
These are as important, if not more so, when creating abstract images and you’ll find creating abstracts is a great way to improve your compositional skills. 
- Balance and proportion are important because abstract images often contain minimal subject matter.
- Consider the order, placement and balance between shapes, patterns, textures, and lines within an abstract image, as these factors affect the visual weight of a photo.
- Be aware of color – some colors are more weighted than others. This can work in your favor by drawing the eye where you want or can work against you by drawing the eye where you don’t. Use color to emphasize various elements of your image.
- Whether abstract images are graphic and boldly colored or more subdued, they can be powerful! They can trigger an emotional response and stimulate the imagination.
- Even if the subject matter is unrecognizable, the photographer’s goal is for the viewer to appreciate the shapes, forms, and colors in the image; thus, creating a sense of wonder for the viewer.
Experiment With Photo Techniques
- Creatively use depth of field to guide the viewer’s eye to a specific point within the image.
- Use shutter speeds to add creative effects to your abstract images. Slow shutter speeds lend themselves especially well to this type of photography.
- Lighting is a major element in any type of photography and when creating abstract images, side-lighting, backlighting, silhouettes, and shadows add to the mystery and intrigue.
- While a lot of creativity may be expressed in post-processing, don’t limit your creativity to editing and software. Although programs like Photoshop, Topaz and others are wonderful for this, first learn about your camera and spend time with it.
My Favorite Abstract Techniques
- Capturing the play of light passing through, or the reflections created by, water in colored glass or colored water in clear glass containers.
- I particularly enjoy mixing oil and water and photographing it above a colorful background. I can be lost for hours capturing the other-worldly images this setup generates.
- After the fun of taking oil and water photos, the same setup is perfect to roll into capturing refractions. This technique is a bit challenging, but once mastered this a great way to produce unique, fun images.
- Using water drop photography to capture refractions is one of my favorite ways to make creative abstract images. I was determined to figure out this technique and it was not as straightforward as I had thought but once I did – WOW!
- Reflections are another way to make easy, creative abstracts. Reflective surfaces such as glass, mirrors, metal, and water are everywhere – you just need to keep your eyes peeled to see the potential that is all around you.
Lastly, abstract photography is FUN! So many times when I set out to capture an abstract image, I never really know what the result will be. I have an idea and I certainly have a vision, but when imagination meets the reality of capturing the shot, I’m often surprised by the result, and that’s what's fun about it!
The bottom line is abstract photography gives you the freedom to grow and express your creativity without any preconceived expectations. You have an endless supply of subject matter as the everything around you can potentially be transformed into abstract art.
When you train yourself to see abstractions in your daily life, you’ll expand the way you see the world and have an additional means to express yourself through abstract photography!
Join Beth for our new hands-on class on June 8, In the Abstract – Creating Abstract Images! Express your creativity through practice and play with various setups and techniques.
** Definition from: https://abstractedreality.com/definition-of-abstract-photography/