The ‘Unspectacular Subject Photography’ Facebook group is dedicated to amateur photos that take extremely ordinary subjects and showcase them in a different light. We’ve collected some of their top photos to share with you. Scroll down to check them out! It’s perfect proof that you can photograph even the most mundane, everyday things and make them look magical. Bored Panda got in touch with the team running the stunning ‘Unspectacular Subject Photography’ group, and the founder, Piet Reekers, kindly answered our questions. We also reached out to talented photographer Dominic Sberna, from Ohio. He was happy to share his thoughts that could help amateur photographers out in their creative journey. Read on for both of our interviews. “If you, for instance, take the skyline of New York by night (with or without fireworks in the sky), many people can make a beautiful picture of that subject,” Reekers told Bored Panda. However, “if you take an unspectacular subject, for instance, an empty box on the street, it very much depends on the personal creative skills of the photographer to make an interesting picture.” Reekers suggested that new members in the group should start off by enjoying themselves, looking around, and having fun taking photos. They should also experiment, ignore bad comments, and shouldn’t bother thinking about how many likes they’ll get. “I find it interesting when a photograph isn’t liked by anyone,” the administrator of the group said. “If you take more pictures you will get better. I also think that looking at good paintings can improve your photographs.” Initially, Reekers made the public group on Facebook just because they wanted to see what would happen. “I didn’t want to judge. A consequence of that is that sometimes discussions appear. Discussions are okay as long as they remain respectful, and the subject is the image itself.” According to the Ohio-based photographer, there is no magical solution when you don’t get the results or make the progress that you want, aside from sustained effort. “To move past the frustration of not achieving the results you want, just try and try again,” Sberna told Bored Panda. “Sometimes, it [the frustration] is inevitable, but other times, it just takes a different way of looking at things,” he shared his take on moving past these negative feelings. We were curious how amateur photographers can make their images look more artistic and elevate the overall quality of their work. Photographer Sberna said that following the “tried and true” elements of art and principles of design when composing your pictures is a very good start. You can think of these as the building blocks of art and design. Meanwhile, the main principles of design focus on balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety, and unity. “Breaking these rules is okay, too, so long as you do it in a way that works for you. Sometimes, being artistic comes down to the individual and how they view something they’re creating," he told Bored Panda. It continues to grow to this day. Just in the last week, 6k new Facebook users joined. The members of this community are incredibly active. At the time of writing, they made a whopping 10k posts in the last month alone. It just goes to show how many creative people are out there! What also helps is that the Facebook group sets a low barrier to entry. Not all of us live right next to spectacular views of nature that we can photograph. But all of us are surrounded by lots of simple and common items. The fact of the matter is that there are no real shortcuts to being a world-class photographer or artist. At the end of the day, what truly matters is your unique style and way of seeing the world, not your gear. High-quality photography equipment can certainly help you get the results you want; however, it won’t take captivating photos for you. Your vision and input are what truly matter. The quality of your tools only augments what’s already there. Crafting and refining your unique photography style will take years of dedicated work. Not to mention that you have to be willing to experiment and open to failing with grace. Getting your art noticed is a huge deal. Many of us would love to have a respected career that’s purely dedicated to our creative passions and pursuits. However, it requires lots of dedication… as well as consistent effort. Unless you are extremely lucky, your photos won’t go viral overnight. You need to slowly refine your skills over weeks, months, and years. On top of that, you need to find some way to showcase your work so that it fits your image as a photographer. Some folks like posting their work on social media, or they create impressive portfolios on their personal websites. Others might decide to avoid digital life altogether and focus entirely on having their photos displayed in galleries. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. You have to see what combination of approaches works best for you and your work. Progress, very often, isn’t linear. You have to accept that you’ll have bad days or even weeks when you’re unhappy with your work. It’s how we deal with this frustration that reveals our character as artists. A major pitfall to avoid is perfectionism. With a subject as subjective as photography, there’s no such thing as ‘perfection.’ You cannot expect to be artistically satisfied with every shot you take. Nor can you expect absolutely everyone to ‘get’ the ideas behind your snaps. It takes a lot of courage to look at a photo you took, label it as ‘good enough,’ and then share it with the world. The feedback that you get from other people can be incredibly valuable for your personal growth. But it takes humility to accept constructive criticism for what it is. Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
