Being Creative with Photos

I don't know about you, but I take a lot of photos. I have files and files of them. Before the age of computers, I have boxes and photo books of them. What do you do with so many photos? I find if they're in an album some where, I will look at them occasionally. If they're in a box in the closet, almost never. Then there's the one you have passed down to you by family that you don't really know who they are, but you keep them anyway. Then there's the ones on the computer in file, after file, after file. Those I actually look at, well some of them. Being the creative type that I am, i will share some of the things I have done with my photos. After all, why waste a perfectly good photo sitting unseen in a file somewhere.

The most common thing to do is put them into book and have them printed out. There are many services that will provide templates for you to use. That's easy enough, right! Well, I usually want to do my own designs and it usually doesn't fit into their templates. But that's O.K., just select the full page template and put your design in to the space provided. I have done many books over the years. Here are a few pages to get your ideas going.

 

This is a page from our Wisconsin trip book.  I like to go see historical places on vacation.

This next one was a 16x24 framed photo as a wedding gift to a friend.

Here's one that is fun, another framed photo.

Another thing I like to do is make cards out of my photos. It can be a very fun and creative outlet.
 I like to experiment with some of the effects in photo shop and try new things. Some turn out great and some don't. Here are a few of those for you to check out.

As you can see, your photo's can turn into beautiful cards that friends and family will enjoy receiving.

Finally, I like to use photo's for painting references and ideas. Or at least that's my excuse for taking to many photo's of places I've visited. Here is a painting I've finished.

 

As you can see there are many ways to be creative with your photo's after you have taken them. Use them as a catalyst to be more creative with them.  Don't just file them away and forget them. Many of the photo's you take are of the family and friends that you love. Find ways to enjoy those photo's and share them with others. I have one last photo to share with you. This is one I put together out of the bad family photo shoot we took last fall.

So have fun with your photo's! Be creative! Look around you and see how photo's are being used by others and be inspired to get creative. I hope that I have inspired you today. I'll see you nest time with a new creative post sto share.

Thinking about different ways to be creative

I thought I'd share this quick sketch I did of my pond and Sissybelle the puppy. For me, having a pond full of koi is a dream I've had for many years. I have sketches of it and even planted trees and shrubs in place long before it was ready. When the backhoe came to dig the pond, I knew the adventure was on it's way. I've waited 20 years to do this. I've had 4 small ponds over the course of those 20 years. This one will be the biggest ponds we've ever made. When we were filling it with water, it held 25,000 gallons. It is 4 ft. deep and 75 ft. long x 27 ft. wide. I even had 12 koi in a tank in the house to put into the pond when it was ready.

You think what does this have to do with Graphic design? Have you ever thought about what it would take to plan and put in a pond? Have you thought about what kind of plants might make the pond more beautiful? How do you make it something people want to visit? So lets compare the two, pond project and graphic design. Both take time to research and plan out. Then you have to follow both out with action to create the look you want.  In a designer's tool box you will find typography and images to use. It's the same with creating a pond, your tools are plants and the images you have in your mind to create with. Both use color, texture, shape, repetition and unity to create with. If you plan it out, both need sketches to start the design process.

 For me it is being creative. And every time I go out to the pond to plant or just enjoy the koi, I am thinking about what I see. I think about the colors and how they mix together. I think about how the shapes work with each other. I listen to the sounds of the waterfall and the bird chirping, as it bathes in the stream. What completes this picture more, I ask myself. What do I want to see here? You ask the same questions when your designing graphic art. It's truly not so different from each other.
 It is learning to see how something is going to look before it actually looks that way. You have to plan out the plants that will make the most pleasing views and atmosphere to enjoy in all four seasons.You do the same with design. Why do I do what I do? It's simple really! I love to create, it is my passion both in the studio and out in the yard.

Here is a picture and the original sketches.

 

Here is a picture of how it looks last summer.

As you can see my summers are full of yard work, but I love it. When it comes to creative ideas, some are completed quickly and others take years to mature into what you want them to be. It is good to have many ideas your are working on at different levels all the time. This project is still in its beginning stages and will take several years to mature. In the mean time, I will be fine-tuning it and learning what works for this spot in my yard. Art and Design is an on-going process. Ideas and thoughts are always changing, being influenced by by the world we live in.