4 Tips For Creating Timeless Photos
Creating photos that can't be dated has always been one of my obsessions. I do not like to be pigeonholed either. I like to be different and timeless. I want to last.
If you are like me then follow me through this article.
I share with you 4 tips for creating timeless photos.
This article will help you understand how to implement a new tool in your photography toolbox. By implementing it, you will make your photos even more interesting and instill in them true meaning.
Definition of Timeless
The definition of the adjective timeless is as follows:
Which is independent of time, which does not vary with it.
Application to Photography
Applying this definition to photography, we can say that a photo is timeless when it is independent of time. It does not vary with time.
A timeless photo is not driven by fashion.
It can be appreciated by an audience at a given moment and still be interesting years later. It will retain all its interest.
Why Create Timeless Photos?
It's a perfectly legitimate question that all photographers who want to create interesting photos must ask themselves. And it is all the more so because it is so topical.
Humanity, or a large part of it, has realized that our planet's resources are finite. Sooner or later, we will have consumed all the natural resources available to us.
We are beginning to learn to restrain ourselves, to economize, to share more. Why not look at photography in this light?
Nowadays, with digital photography, camera manufacturers bring us new cameras every 2 or 3 years. Each time, new memories appear. We have to change our batteries. We have to buy bigger and bigger hard disks to support the growing capacities.
The first question we should be asking ourselves is why redo what's been done before? Why not innovate by creating new photos in smaller numbers?
Another question more relevant to this article is why create photos that will only be interesting for a while? Why not try to create photos that will not only be useful to others, but that will last for a long time?
In my opinion, the question of timelessness is an important one, given that billions of photos are taken every day, and that they have to be stored on servers that require more and more energy.
Don't you think it would be interesting to create photos that would stand the test of time?
Photographic timelessness is a real subject, as fascinating as the photographic process or the photographic state of mind.
Tip #1: Create Interesting Photos
To create an interesting, meaningful photo, it has to be both technically successful and aesthetically correct. This is the first step to attracting the viewer's attention.
Once you've got the viewer's attention, you need to hold it for at least 10 seconds. That's a very long time these days.
If a photo isn't technically correct, it will not attract attention. If it does not make sense emotionally, you will lose the viewer very quickly. To create interesting photos, you need a solid photographic technical foundation.
You also need a strong photographic why. It will guide you in the field throughout your photo projects.
Tip #2: Tie Your Photos To a Story
If you want to create a timeless photo, attach it to a story.
This history can be personal or collective. If you study all the well-known photos that seem timeless, you'll see that they are always associated with a historical moment or a societal fact.
Sometimes they're associated with an era that many people remember. They tell friends and relatives about them, and they'll come to appreciate the photos, because they'll remember the story or stories associated with them.
This group of people will then create a photographic intentionality around these images. This intentionality will reinforce your story. Your photos will become timeless in the collective memory.
The stories associated with photos are a bit like the events attached to a timeless song. This song has become timeless for you because you associate it with a specific moment in your life, or it has become timeless in the collective memory. This association creates timelessness.
Tip #3: Never Go with the Times
When creating photos, always try to be different from the others. Don't follow a trend. If you create photos that resemble you, they will be unique, because you are unique.
Do not copy others. Look to them for inspiration.
If you like a particular style or way of photographing, take inspiration from it without copying it. There's no need to reinvent the wheel.
I often say that in photography, everything has been done, but everything remains to be done.
It is by moving away from the zeitgeist, by going against the grain, that you'll create photos that get noticed, that generate stories and an intentionality that make them timeless.
Tip #4: Create Few But Good Photos
If you want your photos to become timeless, you have to make them good.
I published an article explaining that there is no such thing as a bad photo. There are just photos that are not technically correct.
There are just some photos that haven't found their audience.
To find and hold an audience's attention, you need to create photos that interest viewers. You need to understand and know what they want from you. They're the ones who will build and amplify your intentionality.
You need time to understand an audience. You don't have to create a lot of photos, but photos that make an impact. It's a long and tedious job. Take the time to create good photos.
Finally
I hope this article on timeless photography has helped you understand that it's a long and difficult process. It takes experience.
If there's one essential point to remember, it's that you create for others. You express yourself, but it's others who interpret and show you the photographic path to follow.
This is the great secret of photography.
Be humble, patient, constant, persevering, and persistent because the road to excellence is long.