Explore the exciting world of conceptual photography—an umbrella term referring to photography that is driven by an idea or concept. Here’s our beginner’s guide for how to shoot images using conceptual photography, plus tips and awe-inspiring examples.
In this article, we’ll cover:
What Is Conceptual Photography?
Conceptual photography is an umbrella term that refers to photography that is driven by an idea or concept. It’s photography that goes beyond documentation and can be used in fine art photography, commercial photography, portraiture, and more.
Conceptual photographic work sometimes features an abstract or surrealistic quality, but it doesn’t have to. Although technical skill is important in conceptual photography, the imagination of the photographer is crucial.
When to Use Conceptual Photography
Advertising
Conceptual photography is commonly used in advertising because ideas help sell products. Beauty products and fashion brand campaigns rely on conceptual photography as a storytelling tool.
In 2019, Gucci hired Martin Parr to photograph a new line of lipsticks. The campaign featured tightly cropped images of imperfect toothy smiles and lips coated in the Gucci lipstick shades.
Parr’s photographs were paired with ad copy that suggests that authentic beauty is often imperfect. The campaign used conceptual photography to communicate that Gucci’s lipstick should be enjoyed by everyone.
Psychology
Conceptual photography is often used as a tool to communicate a photographer’s inner thoughts. Creating a conceptual body of photographic work can be a therapeutic tool for recovering from a traumatic event. It can also be a useful tool for processing grief or anxiety in a way that words alone cannot.
Celebrity photographer Philip Toledano has created several bodies of conceptual photo work that explore his fears and anxieties. When I was Six explores the psychological toll of losing a sibling at a young age.
For a project called Maybe, Toledano looked to the future and imagined all of the ways in which he might meet his end. To gather info for the work, he took DNA tests, met with fortune tellers, and partnered with a special effects make-up artist to realistically age him for the various self-portraits.
An excellent New York Times op-doc about the project was released in 2016.
Fine Art
Many fine art photographers also consider themselves conceptual photographers. Fine art photographers use photography as their medium of creative expression. Since conceptual photography is all about ideas, the two styles are a natural fit.
Unlike commercial photography, fine art photography isn’t necessarily created to sell a product. It’s the beautiful image that is the product—which may or may not be for sale.
Conceptual fine art photography can include landscapes, portraiture, still life, or mixed media pieces.
Stock Images
Stock images are a common way for businesses to license pictures for commercial purposes without having to produce a shoot themselves.
Conceptual photography is a popular style for stock photographers because it allows them to make passive income off of work for years to come. If a conceptual photograph has a loose enough concept, it can be adapted by a wide range of clients.
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Conceptual stock photography can include conceptual portraits, still life, product photography, or food photography.
If your conceptual stock photos include faces, just make sure to have your models sign releases before adding them onto a stock website.
Education
Studying famous conceptual photographs and staging your own conceptual shoot can be a great way to educate yourself about the basics of photography.
In beginning photography classes, students are introduced to the work of early conceptual photographers—like Man Ray—to help learn photographic principles. But you certainly don’t need to be enrolled in an academic program to use conceptual photographs as a learning tool.
Creating a conceptual photograph on location or in the studio also forces you to slow down as you work and make deliberate decisions about light, color, shapes, and framing.
Experimenting with conceptual photography is a clever way to keep your post-production skills sharp, too.
10 Inspiring Examples of Conceptual Photographers
Many of the most well-known names in photography can be categorized as conceptual photographers. Here are some of our favorites to draw inspiration from in your own work.
Man Ray
A significant contributor to the surrealist and Dada art movements, Man Ray’s work can be found in a number of major museum collections. Man Ray worked in a variety of artistic mediums, but his photographs have inspired generations of conceptual photographers.
He’s also responsible for developing photographic techniques like photograms and solarization.
The conceptual photography work he created after his former lover and fellow surrealist artist Lee Miller left him, remains some of his most well-known work.
Indestructible Object was a metronome that prominently featured Miller’s eye which would move back and forth in a hypnotic way.
Glass Tears is another piece that was created in this period. The heavily mascaraed eyelashes and tears made of glass are clearly still inspiring beauty photographers today.
Cindy Sherman
Self-portrait artist Cindy Sherman has been using conceptual photography to explore identity since the 1970s. Her photographs are typically created in-studio where she works alone—acting as photographer, stylist, hairdresser, and model to transform herself into a variety of intriguing characters.
Her groundbreaking body of work Untitled Film Stills features stark black and white self-portraits that explores the stereotypical female roles in films made in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
She’s often cited as one of the most important artists working today and is regularly cited as an influence by major portrait photographers.
Roger Ballen
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Roger Ballen creates surreal and sometimes terrifying photographs that explore repressed thoughts, and often touch on themes of chaos.
Although Ballen got his start as a documentary photographer, in the early 2000s he began creating work that was more psychological. He describes his conceptual images as documentary fiction.
Milos Nejezchleb
Milos Nejezchleb’s conceptual photo work integrates eye-popping color palates and repetition within each frame. His use of complementary colors allows for particularly stunning photography.
Nejezchleb often uses his outdoor locations as a source of inspiration for his conceptual photography. He says he can spend months storyboarding and souring clothing and props for these photo shoots.
Mickalene Thomas
A multidisciplinary artist who works in a variety of mediums, Mickalene Thomas’ large scale conceptual portraits are absolutely stunning.
Thomas states, “The gaze of my work is unapologetically a black woman’s gaze loving other black women.”
Her conceptual portraiture explores themes of presentation and perception. Bold colors, patterns, and textures also play an important role for creating conceptual portraits that capture a complex vision of beauty and womanhood.
Her work is held in major institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the National Portrait Gallery.
Diaja
Diaja’s conceptual photography draws inspiration from nature, current events, and black culture. Flowers, fruit, and bold colors are some of the hallmarks of her work.
For many of her portrait shoots, the artist hand paints flowers onto her subjects. Diaja has created conceptual product photography for beauty brands and fine jewelry makers as well.
Pierpaolo Ferrari
One half of the creative team behind Toilet Paper Magazine, Pierpaolo Ferrari has been creating over-the-top surreal conceptual images since 2010.
His work is instantly recognizable and has been featured on the covers of major magazines and adorns a line of absurd home goods.
These conceptual photographs are bound to make you laugh. Recent highlights include a cat’s face squeezed between a hamburger bun and a dinner party spread with a lobster being spray painted gold.
Patricia Fortlage
Patricia Fortlage has used her conceptual photography to explore life with a chronic illness. Lemonade is a conceptual project many years in the making that explores her experience living with Myasthenia Gravis—an autoimmune disorder that can cause weakness in the body’s muscles.
The conceptual project includes a mixture of still lifes and creative portraits exploring the anxieties and daily struggles that have become central to her life.
Mikael Owunna
Mikael Owunna is a conceptual portrait photographer whose work explores the intersection of science, technology, and African cosmologies. His series Infinite Essence is stunning.
To create this body of work, Owunna developed a unique camera flash that only transmits ultraviolet light. His subjects are then painted with fluorescent paints and photographed in total darkness. The results are extraordinary.
About this body of work, Owunna states, “These bodies were illuminated as the starry universe itself. Scenes inspired by the archive of African diasporic myth sprang to life.”
Cristina De Middel
Cristina De Middel blends conceptual and documentary photography into her work to explore larger truths. She began her career as a photojournalist, but moved into conceptual photography with the release of her 2012 body of work called Afronauts.
In this conceptual body of work, she explores the history of Zambia’s failed 1960s space program. The surreal set of images challenged the way Africa is traditionally depicted.
The project also inspired her to continue working on more conceptual photo projects.
8 Tips to Shoot Conceptual Photography
Feeling inspired and ready to try your hand at your own conceptual photography? Consider these tips for starting your own project.
1. Define Your Concept
Conceptual photography is all about having a strong vision. Figure out what the message is behind the work before you begin shooting.
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2. Source Inspiration for Your Conceptual Photography
Look at the ways that other conceptual photographers have visually explored the concept you are interested in. Seeing what others have done can help spark ideas of how you’d tell the story differently.
While you never want to directly copy the work of another conceptual photographer, seeing other photographers’ work can be a great source of inspiration.
Look at the work of artists working in mediums outside of photography, too.
3. Brainstorm and Write It Down
Journaling and making sketches can be quite helpful in the early stages of a conceptual photographic project. It will also help you narrow your focus and pre-visualize what final images might look like.
4. Make Your Message Simple
Conceptual photography doesn’t need to be overcomplicated. The best conceptual photographers are good at keeping their message straightforward, which also ensures that people stay engaged in the photography. Journaling and pre-visualization will help you achieve this.
5. Use Symbols and Symbolic Imagery
Symbols are a great way for visually communicating elements within the work, but keep in mind that symbols can take on different meanings, depending on who the viewer is.
Looking at classical fine art paintings can be a handy tool for understanding which types of symbols have stood the test of time. Skulls, ravens, and hourglasses are all objects often used to symbolize death.
Fire can symbolize passion or rebirth. The moon can symbolize femininity or eternity. Color is often used as a symbol for evoking certain moods or emotions.
Do your research to figure out what might make sense to include in your own conceptual photo project.
6. Make Sure You Have the Right Tools
Although ideas are the most important aspect of a conceptual photo shoot, having the right tools and the technical know-how are important for executing the idea.
Take your time and don’t be afraid to do test shoots to perfect lighting and color palettes.
Although you might start with a simple conceptual project, as you keep working, you may discover you need more specialized tools to execute the vision.
7. Get Creative with Props
Conceptual photographers use a variety of props to bring their big ideas to life. Props can also be a great way to integrate symbolism into the work.
8. Make It Picture Perfect with Edits
Conceptual photography doesn’t need to end in-camera! Spending time editing your photos and fine-tuning color tones and shadow details will help your work stand out.
For many conceptual photographers, the post-production work is just as important as visualizing an idea. How you edit your final images can greatly change the emphasis within the frame.
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