How to Draw Photography Ideas

Like any visual artist, you as a photographer will have ideas for photographs come to mind regularly. One of the best ways to record them for future reference, as well as communicate the idea to others, is to sketch them out on paper. In making a visual note of your idea you will need to record not only the subject matter of your concept, but other aspects such as where your camera will be, what type of light you are looking for, and any extra touches that might escape your memory later. By taking a few minutes to jot down a quick sketch and a few critical notes you will be able to preserve the best of your ideas and turn them into images at a later date.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Create a rough sketch of the main subject, background and props. Start by sketching the focus of your idea--the main subject. The sketch only needs to be as detailed or accurate enough for you to remember the concept, and to allow others to gain an understanding of the idea from viewing the sketch. Draw in the background elements and any props or extras that will be needed to create the image. As much as possible, draw them in a fashion that records the technical details such as appearance, size and relative location as well as the mood and overall concept you are trying to achieve with the image.

2. Define the perspective and place the camera. In the drawing make note of the camera's location. Is the camera level with the subject, above it or below? This also leads to noting the perspective of the camera relative to the subject. Make note of how far or close to the subject the camera is and what type of lens you are considering using.

3. Illustrate the location and type of lighting tools you will be using. The image or idea you envision probably has a very defined look and feel to it. In photography, the mood and tone of an image is heavily dependent on how you use light. Make sure that your sketch includes notes about what type of lighting you will be using, where it will be located and how it will be used. This may be a simple note about adding a reflector to lighten up a shadow, or a full lighting diagram spelling out the details of a studio lighting configuration.

4. Make notes on any part of the idea you cannot draw out or are not suited to being drawn. Since you are simply making a sketch, there will be some aspects of the idea that are either too detailed to draw yet are still visual aspects of the idea, or are non-visual notes but should be jotted down because they support the idea. If you realize that one of your models will need makeup, it makes more sense to write a note on the sketch detailing this than drawing it out in detail. An example of an non-visual comment that you may want to keep is an idea you have for a shooting location. As you draw your idea out you may recall a location or two that will be ideal; now is the time and place to add this information. All of this information in your drawing, both visual and written will help you remember the details of your idea days after the initial spark of creativity.