Abstract Photography Tips: How to Take Abstract Photos

Abstract photography is a style of experimental photography that involves depicting an image that does not have an immediate connection with reality through the use of various lighting, shapes, textures, and patterns. Abstract photographers may take a subject and reduce it to light, shape, color, or texture to switch up traditional depictions of realistic imagery or use special equipment, transferable materials, and post-processing tools to create or alter the image.

This photography mode aims to go beyond the usual representations of everyday objects and tap into the details to create an image that forces the viewer to look at an object differently.

While abstract photography does not adhere to strict photography rules of other photographic genres (such as wedding photography or portrait photography), some key elements add to abstract photography’s impact:

1. 1. Angle: Choosing different angles of view determines the representation and interpretation of the image’s subject. In post-processing, photographers may rotate or flip their abstract works to create visual interest.
2. 2. Composition: An abstract image establishes a point of interest and guides the viewer through it using strong composition. The arrangement and balance between shapes, textures, and patterns influence how the viewer’s eye moves around the image.
3. 3. Lighting: Depending on how a photographer chooses their lighting setup, adding different light sources can help dramatize, emphasize, or give extra weight to certain areas, details, or subjects within an image. Lighting helps set the tone and emotion for the image and plays a large role in the overall aesthetic.
4. 4. Simplicity: Subtraction is a key element of creating an abstract composition. Eliminating distractions and useless elements help attune an abstract photo to create a visually digestible result.

In 1922, photographer Alfred Stieglitz produced a series of cloud studies that helped popularize abstract photography in the twentieth century. The series represented an expressive form, freed from its literal representation. Other photographers, such as Minor White and Aaron Siskind, followed in his footsteps, pushing the boundaries of abstract art while drawing inspiration from surrealism and abstract expressionism. Here are a few other notable abstract photographers and some of their best-known imagery:

1. 1. André Kertész’s “Underwater Swimmer” (1917): Kertész took this photograph while recovering from a gunshot wound sustained during WWI. The photo, which focuses on a young man (his brother) swimming in a pool, remains influential. In the image, Kertész distorts the ripples of the swimming pool’s surface, demonstrating his interest in compositional and metaphorical concepts as a reflection of life itself.
2. 2. Man Ray’s “The Kiss” (1922): In 1922, visual artist Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky) used a camera-less technique—which he dubbed “rayograph”—that involved laying an object directly atop photo-sensitive paper and exposing it to light. To create this iconic rayograph, Ray transferred the silhouette of the heads of two people kissing (he and Kiki de Montparnasse) and holding each other's faces with their hands.
3. 3. László Moholy-Nagy’s “Funkturm Berlin” (1928): Taken from atop the Berlin Radio Tower, this famous abstract photograph explores various geometric forms, interplaying triangles, and circles with different qualities of light. This image was part of a series that Moholy-Nagy took where he employed aerial photography, which allowed the viewer to engage with reality in previously impossible ways.
4. 4. Wolfgang Tillmans’s “Paper Drop” (2006): This photograph features a sheet of curled photo paper that’s difficult to identify as a paper product due to Tillmans’s use of light and tension. The image, which possesses a dream-like quality, led Tillmans to create a series focused on darkroom paper folded and lit by colored lights.

With cutting-edge post-production tools, you can elevate your abstract photography. But you also don’t need expensive equipment to create these photos. Here are five tips for taking a visually interesting abstract photo:

1. 1. Incorporate texture. Texture adds physicality to a photograph and helps cultivate the narrative of what’s at play. Using different textures helps guide the viewer to the strategic points in an image.
2. 2. Experiment with color. Incorporate color into your imagery, which can serve as a powerful tool to attract your viewer’s attention and make the emotional quality of your image more understandable.
3. 3. Play with shapes and forms. While two-dimensional shapes (like circles and triangles) comprise length and width, forms are three-dimensional shapes that express length, width, and depth. Together, shape and form constitute the foundation of abstract photography, adding to our visual comprehension of the world. Playing around with shutter speed, ISO, and long exposure times can create a motion blur effect that will help distinguish shapes and forms.
4. 4. Try abstract macro photography. Use a macro lens, adapter, or extension tubes to shoot close-up macro photographs of subjects. Using macro tools will help you hone in on various compositional elements of your photograph, such as color, texture, and light.
5. 5. Use minimalistic elements. Minimalism involves using elements like simple geometric shapes to convey a visual experience and illustrate restraint. Ask yourself which elements are necessary to include in an image, and trust that your viewer can envision what occurs beyond the frame. Learn more about the characteristics of minimalism.

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