How to Photograph Boring Stuff

Do you ever go out to photograph and just find that everything looks boring?

A few photographers have establish their reputations largely from photographing scenes that might usually be considered boring. Stephen Shore and William Eggleston in particular come to mind. Not everything can work photographically, not everything can make an interesting image (who was it that said if you want to take more interesting images, get in front of more interesting stuff?).

Looking at many of the images from Shore and Eggleston, the two elements that make these images work are the same for almost any photograph. Light and Story.

If you’re photographing an everyday common object, it’s going to be tough to make it interesting if the light isn’t interesting. That might be soft, gentle light but not necessarily. But the light does most of the work of establishing the mood of the image, whether it’s harsh and bright or dark and subtle. Color and nostalgia can help here too.

The most common factor though is the element of story, or rather an implied story. There are scenes that provoke the imagination, that suggest what might have happened or what might happen, of who might live there or might have interacted with the scene. Like the opening scene to a movie, establishing the context and letting the viewer anticipate what might be to come. That’s when I think most often the boring stuff becomes most interesting.