The key to great photography is sometimes deceptively simple – and conceptual rather than technical. More than getting the perfect lighting and the best quality image, some of the most attention-grabbing images are those that show us a different way of seeing something.
What really stops people in their tracks is not just a beautiful image, but something they haven't seen before. And this can even be true when we're talking about some of the most photographed subjects in the world (see our pick of the best cameras and the best photo editing software if you need to update your kit).
3. The Colosseum from inside pic.twitter.com/NMvL24aHrbApril 18, 2024
The thread above started by Time Capsule Tales on X shows a series of famous landmarks. Many of them are places we've all seen many of times in hundreds of photos, but these captures get our attention because they're not the typical postcard shot.
The subjects range from the Eiffel tower shot from below to the view from the top of Mt. Rushmore and even the back panel of the Mona Lisa. And photographers have been adding their own examples to the list. Many of the shots are quite ordinary in a technical sense, with hardly the best lighting or editing, but they're interesting simply because of their composition and what they show: a place we're familiar with but from an angle we don't often see.
8. View from the top of Mt. Rushmore pic.twitter.com/NZA07mLNL1April 18, 2024
For example, the shot of the Great Sphinx of Giza in the thread is hardly the most flattering angle for the great monument, but it's interesting because we don't normally see that the Sphinx has a tail. The iconic 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign is almost always shot from the front, but it also has a reverse side.
11. The iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign from the back pic.twitter.com/8ufjH2W4NBApril 18, 2024
The lesson is simple: it's possible to take arresting images of even the most tired subjects by finding a different way of seeing them or an angle that people haven't focused on before. And this doesn't just apply to landmarks, we can apply the same concept to any subject, from a portrait to a landscape, looking for new ways of seeing in a world where it might sometimes feel like almost everything has already been photographed before.
For more creative inspiration see this clever twist on iPhone camera adverts and the best photography websites.
