Thread by @ShuttersNetwork

Good morning Everyone.
It's me @bekanenzino

Are you ready for
"CREATIVITY IN PHOTOGRAPHY"?

comment under this tweet so we can begin.

So to follow this class check the hashtag #SNiClass

Let's begin.

OXFORD dictionary defines CREATIVITY as the use of imagination or original ideas to create something.
But I define CREATIVITY as creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary. It is also doing the unexpected. For me it means thinking left when others are thinking right.#SNiClass

I've always been one to question the normal way of thinking. E.g why this way and not that way?
Rather than doing this can't we do this?

Thinking like that has always helped me develop a "Plan B" mindset. Meaning I'm always prepared for the unexpected

#SNiClass

I heard sth in a movie can't remember the movie though.

"Make a plan, expect the plan to go wrong, if or when it does, execute the back up"

Bottom line is always have contingencies.

#SNiClass

Creativity is sth you are often born with but that doesn't mean it can't be taught or learned.

I've found that in life you value whatever you work hard for more than you value what was handed over to you without stress. Same thing applies here.

#SNiClass

Often times people who are naturally creative take it for granted.

They feel it comes easy so they put little to no effort in developing themselves and their creativity. And lack of doing often leads to forgetting how to do said thing.

#SNiClass

Which is why someone who dedicates his time and energy into developing a creative mind will always surpass he who thinks he lives and breathes creativity.

What separates Mark Zuckerberg from the Winklevoses?

#SNiClass

He went ahead and did the work rather than talk about how he can do it if he wanted.

You can sit down at talk about how you thought of an idea but the other person will get the credit because he did the work.
And let's not forget there's nothing new under the sun

#SNiClass

The idea you have now might have been subconsciously or unconsciously inspired by someone or something.

Even worse is someone else could have already thought of and executed that exact same idea in another location unknowing to you

#SNiClass

HOW TO DEVELOP A CREATIVE MIND OR WORKFLOW.

Creativity isn't straightforward like regular photography.
In portraits for instance you can learn composition, lighting, retouching and you're golden. However the same rules don't apply to creative photography.

I can even go as far as to say creative photography has no rules. I may take a picture of a subject and crop half her face out of frame and a portrait photographer might say it's a bad image. But is it really?

#SNiClass

I may take a landscape photo and tilt the camera off balance and a landscape photographer will say it's a bad image but again I ask. Is it really?

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Being a creative photographer means you have mastered all the rules of photography and thrown them out the window. You know what composition is but you bend it to your will.

You know framing but you completely ignore it.

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Shooting upside down, sideways, blocking your frame, cutting out part of the subject, partially obstructing the frame with props and object etc.

Motion blur used to be considered an error or a mistake until someone said it was "creative"

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Now there's a whole genre of photography based on capturing motion blur and double exposure images

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Today Creative photography is whole genre of photography greatly inspired by the likes of @jordikoalitic and @petermckinnon

They dared to do the things everyone thought was abnormal and just look how it turned out.

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Millions around the world are trying to recreate their images because of how captivating they are.

Here at home we have the likes of @FabolousBanji @tybellotweets and @kelechiamadiobi (just to mention a couple)

#SNiClass

These people I have mentioned are champions in their fields but what makes them stand out is their creativity.
@kelechiamadiobi did a shoot where he asked a man in a full suit to walk into a pool of water. Crazy yes but worth it.

📸: @kelechiamadiobi

Another one.
He put a model on top a danfo bus in the middle of traffic and took some shots.

According to the story he said he had to settle the bus driver and they all ended up entertaining everyone stuck in traffic.

📸: @kelechiamadiobi

Our mama @tybellotweets did a recent shoot with Davido where a very expensive jacket was ruined in the name of creativity but trust me the images were killer 🔥

📸: @tybellotweets

@FabolousBanji has also taken portraits to a whole new level because of creativity.

📸: @FabolousBanji

So basically what I'm trying to show you is that you can be creative in any genre of photography. Don't think outside the box. Think like there's no box to begin with.

Let your imagination run wild.
It always seems impossible until you do it.

Being creative often time looks foolish. Which brings us back to my earlier statement of questioning the "regular way" or "norm"
Who said landscape has to just landscape or portraits have to be shot with modifiers and lights and backdrops

#SNiClass

You have an idea. You have the props you need, what then are you waiting for.

Start and improvise as you go. That process is what makes your brain work harder and more creatively.

#SNiClass

*Pointer*

Creativity involves way less thinking and way more doing.
I promise, if you keep thinking about how you'll do it, you'll never really do it.

If I kept thinking I needed a soft box and strobe and reflectors by now I would still be waiting.

#SNiClass

So we're coming to the end of this session.
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*Ways of Boosting Creativity*

1. YouTube
2. More YouTube
3. Even more YouTube 🙂
4. Let me guess YouTube?
5. Exactly... YouTube.

In my opinion, the internet is all the school you need.

Everything I know today is from the internet. Rather than asking what camera or what lens or preset... go online and research what those things are composed of.

#SNiClass

Yes what lens but if I tell you 50mm, how has it helped you?

You need to know why 50mm
Is there a substitute for 50mm
Is the 50mm even necessary to begin with.

The how and why is more important than the what.

#SNiClass

Sometimes I pay for classes to listen to the speakers though process.

What is he or she thinking when taking photos. That thought process is what makes the photo really appealing.

Let me give you an example.

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I'm very sure alot of you saw this and thought "okay the camera is in the fridge, so?"

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But then seeing the process and work put in made you appreciate the image a whole lot more.

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Okay so besides YouTube, following other creatives better than you is a sure way to boost your own creativity.

I have bosses whose work I follow alot.

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I used to be intimidated by dope photographers but I soon realized they don't have two heads. They have a camera, I have a camera, so what's my excuse?

It's not like they just woke up one morning and became as good as they are.

#SNiClass

They all put in the work and it payed off so why should I be jealous or intimidated when I haven't even put in half the work.

You need to stop feeling intimidated and start being inspired. "He has glass lens I have a phone"... so what?

#SNiClass

We have the likes of @KahliBrown and @tatchero doing amazing things with phones. Stuff that even some of us with a DSLR can't do.

So again...

What's your excuse?

#SNiClass

So just to recap.

*Creativity is making use of what you have to achieve what you want.
*You can be born with creativity and you can also learn it.
*You can develop a creative mind by studying the work of other creatives.

#SNiClass

HERE ARE A FEW BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING CREATIVITY and it applies generally not only in photography.

1. You become a master at improvisation.
2. It sets you apart from others.
3. You become more efficient
4. Working becomes more fun

#SNiClass

*IMPROVISATION*

For instance you get to a location for a pre wedding shoot and it's raining do you cancel or do you right there devise a concept to fit your present scenario 😁

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*SETS YOU APART*

Personally these past couple of weeks I've been contacted by a few businesses to help create content for their products. I did the job for two but I made a mistake. I didn't do it my way.

#SNiClass

I did it the conventional way because it's the right and professional thing to do. After I delivered the work they had complaints.

They said it didn't look like my work.
It didn't fit the profile I'd built up on social media.

#SNiClass

That was when I realized that they contacted me because they saw my work online and wanted that level of creativity.
Long story short I delivered and we were all happy 😅

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*EFFICIENCY*

When you're able to improvise quickly and creatively you work more efficiently. Things that would normally hinder others would help you succeed.

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And Finally....

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*WORK IS FUN*

I read somewhere that it's no longer work if it's fun.
I know how much fun I have when experimenting with different ideas and concepts.

So when next you're shooting take a minute and think.
What is it that I wouldn't normally do and then do it 🙃.

#SNiClass

Tell your model to jump in her wedding gown 😂
Tell the groom to run like he just stole something.

Let them chase each other around like a game of tag

Have fun and create magic

#SNiClass

THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME.

Special thanks to @shuttersnetwork for hosting me.

Thank you @Hyelhirra for this opportunity.

The entire Board of #SNi
The entire #SNi family

I love you ❤

My name is Beka Nenzar @bekanenzino this was very fun.

If you have any questions please comment under any tweet in this thread using #SNiClass and tagging both @shuttersnetwork and @bekanenzino.

❤❤❤