Find photography ideas

In the movies and on TV sometimes a character suddenly appears, kind of pops up from nowhere, often in a corner of the screen. It’s possible to create this kind of scene in photography, as I recently discovered.
I took the above picture at the official opening of a new playgroup, and it was taken for a newspaper. To commemorate the event there was a ribbon which was to be cut by `spider-man’, aka one of the parents (the women in the photo are playgroup leaders.)
Rather than have spider-man cut the ribbon at ground level I persuaded him to climb a kid’s climbing frame - actually a climbing bridge, and daringly reach out from that to cut it. My reasoning was, spider-man’s natural habitat is above the ground, not on it.
More seriously, and probably more relevantly, quite a few photographs could be made more interesting if photographers were willing to experiment a little like this.
Rather than take a photo of a line of people who are at the same level, which can be pretty boring, try to arrange some of them at a slightly different level. Obviously this image is an extreme example, but it demonstrates the idea. This would be a relatively tame picture if spider-man was just standing in line.

Suction-pad failure
If you have kids and if they are wannabe spider-men or spider-girls you could set up a shot like this. Don’t try to force them to do it and let them practise first, maybe with you holding onto them.
When it’s time to take the photograph, hold onto them right up until the last second (unless they insist that you don’t), then step back and take your picture. Even better, ask someone else to take it while you look amazed at spider-man\spider-girl’s amazing feat.
Try to put your hands up with amazement, if possible. It’s much more encouraging - spider-man loves a good audience.
Keep in mind that this was a playground which was run by a safety-conscious playgroup, and it had rubber matting on the ground to prevent injury if a child fell from the equipment. Even so, parents can be just as safety-conscious. You could place some kind of cushioning where your child might fall, if their amazing feat is affected by suction-pad failure.

In a post called objects of desire I mentioned that some people view skyscrapers not just as  symbols of big business but also as symbols of control - the control that big business supposedly has over our lives.
This is a pretty unfavorable view, and it’s also a pretty imbalanced view. For example, another view might be that skyscrapers are a symbol of national prosperity - prosperity for everyone, not just big business. This is obviously a more favorable view.
If you write about your work - describe it, either for a college photography course or for your portfolio of photographs, it would enhance your description if you presented these two different viewpoints.
So if you take a picture of a skyscraper you might write about it like this: `some people view skyscrapers as symbols of the control that big business supposedly has over our lives, while others view them as symbols of national prosperity.’
Your description would be even more balanced if you presented a third point of view, ie. `some view them as both symbols of control and of national prosperity - they view them with a mixture of resentment and pride.’
As a tutor in media studies I encourage my students to to present as many varying points of view as possible when they are describing their work. This doesn’t mean that they can’t present their own point of view - their own interpretation of their work, it means that they can do this and present other points of views, other interpretations.

In any case it’s useful to be aware of the issues that are involved with some subjects (subjects in a photography sense) even if you’re only interested in taking pictures for your own personal pleasure.
It can help you to interpret these subjects in several ways, you have more interpretations to choose from.
For example, armed with the knowledge that skyscrapers are viewed either with resentment or pride, or sometimes with both, you might consider taking a picture of someone looking at a skyscraper with resentment and a picture of someone looking at a skyscraper with pride. You might even be able to create an image that captures both of these emotions.
In future posts I’ll be taking a look at different subjects and the different ways in which they can be interpreted. 

Some objects can appear to be pretty dramatic if they’re photographed from a low angle. For example, an image of a skyscraper taken from ground level with the camera pointing upwards can make the skyscraper look pretty dramatic.
But it can also make it look pretty intimidating, depending on your attitude to society. If you believe that your life is mostly controlled by big business a skyscraper might represent big business, so to you it might represent control, the way that big business supposedly controls our lives.
Some people believe that big business and the government control our lives. But skyscrapers are rarely perceived to represent the power of government.
It’s arguable whether big business or government really do control our lives. I’m just passing the message on - hopefully you’re familiar with the old saying `don’t shoot the messenger.’

Let’s explore the idea that photographing an object with a view to making it look pretty dramatic can also reinforce a belief.
Does the photographer that takes a picture of a skyscraper from a low angle do so partly for dramatic reasons but also because it reinforces his belief that big business controls his life, and everyone elses’ lives?
This might be the case. Photographers usually have a motive for taking a picture - sometimes several motives. It’s quite possible that the photographer who takes a low angle image of a skyscraper is satisfying a desire to prove to himself - and other people - that his belief is correct.
If so, for him a skyscraper isn’t just an object to be photographed from a certain angle, it’s also an object of desire.