Photo Series-Conceptual Photography

The world of conceptual photography is only limited by the photographer's imagination and creativity. Almost any thought or idea can be turned into a conceptual work of art. Photography is no different.

While a conceptual artist only needs the imagination a blank canvas , paint and brushes, a photographer has to go the extra mile and often recreate sets in order to do the project well.

Conceptual photography is well geared towards expressing ideas about feelings or state of emotions and this can be achieved by an astute photographer and often with the aid of a digital editing software program.

Here are a few examples; If you have a studio or a room or even an outside are you can do the following; build at least three fake walls that meet each other like a room, with sheets of plywood and paint them in any color of your choice but make sure that it's made for outdoor use.

Decorate these walls with paintings, fake light switches and so on. Seal all of the edges where the walls meet the floor and each other with clear silicone.

Lay a blue, aqua or light green plastic sheeting. Place sand bags in the side that remains open and from where you will be standing and taking the photographs. Place a chair, bed, sofa etc, in the middle of the room. Flood the room with a few inches of water and add some food coloring to resemble the color of the ocean.

Make sure to have an assistant create some ripples in the water and who remains out of sight or if this is not possible, you can always crop them out of the scene. Have a model sit or lay in the furniture and pretend to be terrified to touch the water. You can add more drama by placing some fake shark fins in the water which can also be added digitally later.

Ensure that the fins, any props and the plastic sheeting are weighted down so that they do not float or tip over. This image can represent several emotions; worries, fears about the future, about a recurring dream and so on.

Another project involves using one fake wall decorated as before and installing a vanity mirror like the ones found in some bathrooms that when opened reveals whatever it is that one keeps inside of them; like your "dirty little secrets".

Have a model open this vanity mirror and show an expression of either surprise, fear, calm, relaxation and so forth. Inside of the vanity mirror you have to incorporate another image featuring a scene which captures the essence of the emotions or feeling that you want to be felt by the model. You have to digitally add this second image into the first with a program like Photoshop and this is easily done by using the layers program or tools.

A third project takes a model who is deeply looking into a glass ball like the ones used by individuals who "read" your future, more commonly known as fortune tellers. Like in the previous example, you have to incorporate another image into the glass ball with a digital editing program.

A simpler project since all it requires is for you to take an image of a model looking into a giant billboard and seeing themselves as they would have been had they made different choices in their lives. Again, you also need to Incorporate a different image into the billboard. Depending on the complexity or message of the second image, the project is rather easy to do.

Finally, using a regular everyday window have a model pose as if looking out. Place a green sheet of nylon, plastic or cardboard on the supposedly window outside view and take the photograph.

Using Photoshop or any other digital program including a free one like Gimp, add another scene unto the green portion in the first photograph. This is useful when adding surreal images like the stars or planets.

It takes creativity and the willingness to think out of the box, but if you get it right, then you are bound to create really cool looking effects and they in turn will be adaptable to being present to quite a few photography related publications or incorporated into a book.