Ignore This Photography Advice

This will be another quick blog as this topic doesn’t need to be drawn out. Whenever I’m browsing social media, I sometimes see advice on the lines of “avoid cliché photos”. This is the photography equivalent of “don’t go to touristy places”. I would like to assume that the majority of this advice comes from a place of wanting to help others stand out and not end up with the same photos as everyone else. While I do see this logic, I would like to disagree with it to a certain degree.

They are cliché for a reason

Cliché photos and locations are cliché for a reason. They are beautiful, they work, they are accessible, and you almost always walk away with a shot you’re happy with. All cliché photos were unique at some point until that look became popular and adopted by many people. Taking a photo of a silhouette striding through a patch of light is extremely cliché in the street photography world. However, under the right conditions, it can look really cool. It’s also easy to achieve, can be done anywhere, and won’t require much skill.

Pretty places are great for starting out

Pretty places and cliché shots are amazing for starting out because you will get great results without needing much skill. It would be hard to struggle in Iceland, Tokyo, or Marbella. On the other hand, trying to be unique straight away might prove difficult, frustrating, and demotivating. Pretty places and cliché shots inspire confidence. When you come home and have some amazing photos of the Alps, you feel inspired and motivated to go out and keep shooting. Shooting silhouettes might seem cliché to some; however, they are easy wins you can be happy with. Eventually, you will get bored and wish to broaden your horizons, but don’t stop just because some might say it’s too cliché. While you do learn the most from mistakes, tough times, and failure, you also need some easy wins in order to maintain morale and keep shooting.

Not cliché if you’ve never seen them before

This is obvious, but if you’ve never taken a shot of Dumbo, then of course it will be unique and exciting for you, regardless of how many millions of times it’s been done before. I don’t subscribe to the idea that just because something is popular, it now needs to be avoided. If you’ve never taken a photo of the shrines in Kyoto, they are unique for you, and that’s all that matters.

Put your own spin on it

Once you have the cliche shot, try to put your own spin on it. Maybe try different angles, or perhaps add some motion blur. Think of how you can compose the image different to how you’ve seen it already. Essentially, have fun and play around. Sooner or later, you will find a unique angle that you might have not seen before.