When it comes to photography whether as a profession, a hobby, or for use on a photo canvas as an aspect of your interior design ambitions, there’s a tendency for most people to assume the subjects of their photos have to be exotic or heavily staged and controlled. The feeling tends to be that if you didn’t travel the world to capture your photos you should at least have spent days constructing a perfect image – or have these perfect images already in your photo collection.
The fact is, this kind of ambition isn’t necessary for decorating your home. No matter where you live, it’s exotic to someone, after all, and some pretty amazing fodder for wall art can be found literally in your backyard – and plenty of other places that won’t require you to pack a suitcase.
The Photo Canvas Local Blindness Phenomenon
We all have a tendency to stop really “seeing” things that cross our paths every day. This kind of situational blindness is very common because our brains edit out what is perceived to be unnecessary information, which quickly becomes anything that hasn’t changed in a while. This includes the houses around you, the trees, the people, the strange landscape features, and anything else.
But the fact that you’ve become situationally blind to your surroundings does not mean that there’s nothing interesting or photo-worthy right outside your door. The trick is to fool yourself into seeing things with a fresh eye again. There are plenty of places to look for really amazing subjects.
Storerooms and Garages
Your own home is a great place to start. Without changing from your pyjamas, you can grab a mug of coffee and your camera and have a little adventure. Storerooms and garages are great places to start because they tend to be areas of the house where odd objects collect, and where people don’t disturb them very much. This means these areas have a strong tendency to become collections of forgotten mementos and to form unexpected tableaus.
Don’t view these areas as your ignored storage spots – try to see them as if you were an adventurer, or even a burglar, and look for interesting things that will make for affecting subjects.
The Backyard
For wildlife, there’s rarely a need to go beyond your backyard. Most people don’t take a very close look at their outdoor spaces, content to stay on the patio and admire the flowers from afar, but if you get in close to the plant life in your backyard you’ll find plenty of dazzling subject matter for great photographs – that will in turn make for awesome wall art.
The trick here is to wear something you don’t mind getting dirty, and get in close. Insects and small animals know how to hide from predators like yourself – get in close and you’ll have no shortage of awesome photos.
The Neighbourhood
Finally, don’t forget the human resources all around you – the people who share your street, your cul de sac, your neighbourhood. You don’t often think of your neighbours beyond the ways they directly affect your life, but they’ve got great faces, and interesting stories, and they will make for the sort of photo canvas art that is not just artistic, but warm and friendly as well.
Subject matter is all around you – you just have to remind yourself to look. When you’ve found the hidden gems right in your own backyard, click here and we’ll make them into works of art.
