It’s always a great feeling to have a cool photo that catches everyone’s eye — you know the kind that guests always comment on when they walk into your home.
It could be a great family photo, a collage of childhood milestones, or it could be the perfect action shot of a loved one playing their favorite sport.
Either way, the only thing the following photo projects require is a camera, yet they could give you the opportunity to create some interesting focal points in your home. When it comes to creative photo ideas, the sky is the limit!
1. Wall of Frames, One Photo
Here, we’ll talk about creating a wall collage, but with one overarching photo.
In this case, you would take one photo, and make sure it’s a very high resolution. You would then break the photo down to several different sub-photos — 3 or more, typically.
When framing them, you would want to limit the frame’s overlap to ⅛”. This keeps everything as consistent as possible from photo to photo.
A little bit of inconsistency between photos is inevitable. But you can get close. From a distance, these discrepancies shouldn’t be noticeable.
After you’ve set up your frames, line up the pictures on the wall to correspond with the other photos and you’ll have a unique wall collage that consists of different frames, but only one photo.
2. Generational Photo Ideas
There are few things more important than family, if anything at all. If you’re considering buying picture frames, it’s most likely meant to document a point in the life of a loved one.
Having a four-generation— or even more— photo with a similar layout or theme could show the longevity and unity of a family. It could also bridge the gap between generations in a way few other things could.
It would also be a great memento for your family to share.
3. Take A Different Photo of the Same Location During Each of the Four Seasons
This applies to readers in parts of the country distant from the equator. (Florida and Southern California don’t tend to have different seasons, but New England or the Pacific Northwest do!)
If you get four distinct seasons throughout the year, take a photo of the exact same spot during each time.
A good idea would be to find a place with distinctive features — perhaps a giant tree or a building with unique architectural accents. (It would need to be clear that the area appears consistent throughout the four photos you take.)
Once you choose a spot, take a photo and wait for the next season to come. After a year has passed, you’ll have a great set of photos to display in your home.
Take A Different Photo of the Same Location During Different Weather Conditions
Maybe you don’t want to wait a whole year to finish a project. That’s cool — there are other ways you can capture the same area experiencing different conditions, such as various weather patterns.
Maybe you live in an area where the weather is always changing. One day it rains…another day it’s sunny…another it’s gray and windy..and then the next it might be foggy…
Or maybe you live near a creek or river, and it dries up after a few weeks of no rain. But, after a daylong rain shower, you hear the water roaring from your house. Take a photo of both conditions and display them side by side.
By capturing the same spot and experiencing different weather conditions, you can showcase entirely different perspectives.
Take A Different Photo of the Same Location During Different Times of the Same Day
Still too much time to wait for Mother Nature? Don’t worry, we can still achieve a similar effect! The sun can be a strong source of light, so chronicling its impact at different points in the day would be a great way to show its influence.
Dawn and dusk are also great times to take photos. Both times of day have different natural lighting effects. And they can influence your photo in different ways. Experiment with them!
If you have a free day, dedicate a whole 24 hours to this project. You might like what you come up with.
4. Use “Burst Mode” For the Perfect Pose, or Try Time Lapse Photography
If your child plays sports, you might want a photo that captures their high energy, but it can be hard to get the perfect pose. You’d want something that looks displayable but is also indicative of their athleticism.
If you have a smartphone, you can do this easily — simply use the “burst mode” camera feature to take rapid-fire shots of your kid doing the activity they love. Then you can go in and pick the perfect still shot from the set.
You can also try time-lapse photography, which can help to capture multiple points in a longer sequence of events. These would be cool to display as one coherent gallery wall full of photos!
5. Take a Photo of Your Newborn Every Day for a Month
They say early childhood is where you change and develop the most. Still, it’s remarkable how much a baby grows in their first month of living, so it’s a great time to document the growth of your child.
Your baby’s early life is also a time when you grow a lot. Chronicling your infant’s growth is a great way to recall all the ways your life has changed over time, too.
It’s hard to notice someone changing when you see them every day, but photos you can look back on really capture it. And it would be a great addition to any baby book or even a time-lapse to display in your child’s room.
6) The Manhattan Solstice
This is one of the coolest man-made connections to the cosmo and it happens twice a year in May and July. “Manhattanhenge” or “The Manhattan Solstice” is a phenomenon that occurs when the sun—either rising or setting— aligns with the east-to-west street grids of New York City.
The best places to view this are 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th streets. Other photographers might crowd the streets during this, but it would make a great photograph for an astronomy enthusiast.
If you want inspiration, there are tons of photos of this on the internet — simply punch “Manhattanhenge” or “Manhattan Solstice” into Google.
You should see what the possibilities are.
Fun fact: Neil DeGrasse Tyson first coined the term in reference to Stone Henge and how you can see the rising sun centered through the buildings.
7) Create Optical Illusions
Do you want to appear like a giant throwing an airliner as though it’s a paper airplane? Maybe you want to appear to be a behemoth holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Or, maybe you want to look as tall as a skyscraper.
It’s always cool to play around with optical illusions, plus it’s a fun exercise in creativity!
You can create these kinds of shots with a little trick photography.
To make yourself appear to be as big as (or bigger) than a commonly large object, all you need to do is stand closer to the camera than the object you’re pushing, throwing, or holding up.
8) Think Inside The Box
The whole point of creative photos is to, well, get creative! So make sure to think outside of the box — or in this case, inside the box and create something amazing with your family. The photo featured above is a sure way to take family photos to the next level. With a little creativity and some photo editing skills, you can re-create this photo or put your own twist on it. Try something new for your home decor.
9) Play With Shutterspeed
If you don’t know what shutter speed is — it is exactly what it sounds like. It is the speed at which the shutter of the camera lens closes. If used in the right way you can create a very unique photo. The faster the shutter speed, the shorter the exposure. A shorter shutter will give you a longer exposure — both results are amazing!
When your shutter is open longer, everything that moves during that time in your shot will become blurry. Let’s say a bird is flying through your shot, you will get a long exposure shot of the bird flying through the air — nature, and technology are pretty awesome, right?!
Adjusting the shutter speed allows you to turn a normal photo into something spectacular and unique. Be sure to play around with your shutter speed before trying to get that perfect photo. It may take some practice to get it just right, but once you have it down pat, you are on the road to amazing photography!
10) Get The Reflection
If it just rained outside, you might be wanting to just cuddle up in bed with a warm blanket and a good movie or book. Instead, grab your camera and head outside. Look for puddles that are clear enough to see your reflection. You could get a really great photo of buildings, the sky, or even just a reflection of yourself! Reflections in photos can completely alter the image. Sure a photo of a building is cool, but why not show it from a different angle and create something more abstract?
Final Thoughts on Unique Photo Ideas
Creativity can be fleeting. And sometimes you might need a little boost to figure out your next great project. We hope you found the above photo ideas inspiring!
You might want to make your own interpretation of the above ideas, or you could try to follow one of them exactly.
Either way, it’s always helpful to have a list like this to reference to get the creative juices flowing.
(P.S. If you ever create one of these projects, feel free to tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter as we’d love to see it!)
