Creative

We love the painterly aesthetic of this portrait. The lighting and texture pays homage to classic works of art, as do the themes of life and death. An aperture of f/8 has rendered everything in focus, while soft, directional lighting has cast subtle shadows, providing relief. Texture is a key component of classic works, present in the backdrop and cloth that scythes across the frame.

It doesn’t matter how good a photographer or digital artist you are, without a strong concept, you’ll fail to sell a creative image to your audience. It’s hard to imagine a stronger concept than this dancer and her dress made from crashing waves. The edit is seamless and the warm sunset lighting is consistent between subject and background.

You’d be forgiven for thinking this stunning close-up of five butterflies is a composite, but rather remarkably, it’s a single image. The key to making the shallow depth of field work was photographing the butterflies side-on, so they’re all roughly on the same focal plane. The clean and vibrant background is the icing on the cake.

We really like how this image blends interior architecture photography and live performance. The ultra wide angle frames the grandeur of the building, while the leaping ballerina provides foreground interest. It positions the viewer on stage, looking out at the audience.

This is an extremely interesting creative image. The base is a tack-sharp motorbike panning shot, captured at 1/160 sec. But what really sets it apart is the negative conversion and digitally added skeleton to provide an x-ray effect. The result is extremely convincing, with the skeleton mirroring the biker’s riding pose seamlessly. A very well conceived and executed image.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more seamless composite than this. The dog’s reflection in the water and the splashing waves really sell the concept. Water is even reflected in the dog’s goggles. An excellent creative artwork. Well done!

At its core, this image is a simple studio shot. It’s well lit and sharp, everything you could ask for. But once again, it’s the concept that’s king. Using a striped tie to replicate the Fab Four’s famous Abbey Road album cover is genius. A great image!

This is a great example of the Adamski effect. It’s a combination of two images. The subject was photographed in situ before a second image was captured without the subject in the frame, while intentional camera movement was used to create the attractive vertical blur. The two shots were then seamlessly combined in Adobe Photoshop to form this creative blend of street and abstract.

This is a fine example of how creative photography can be used to convey movement in a still image. By slowing down the shutter speed, the fencers' movements have been blurred, creating a free flowing painterly effect that suggests movement.

This is a great example of intentional camera movement photography. It's abstract, but cleverly, enough form has been retained to identify the subject as a building. We're guessing due to the vertical and horizontal motion blur it's a composite of at least two images. A great photo!

This portrait is a clever concept. Both the out of focus picture in the background, the conjoined braids and the models’ positioning connote closeness and sisterhood. The black and white conversion helps to remove any distractions, as does the clean portions of space around the frame.

This image is inspired by the work of surrealist painter René Magritte. It’s a four-shot composite, comprising the man, lamp post, pavement and seascape. Crucially, the lighting is consistent throughout the image and we love the concept, with the street light representing a full moon.

This image is a great still life in its own right, with beautiful Rembrandt lighting. But it's been elevated by telling a rather dramatic story. The fruit in the bowl looks on at the pear that's been impaled. The red liquid used to suggest blood, denotes the whodunit narrative.

It’s hard to tell whether this is a single image or if any digital trickery was involved. Regardless, the end product is striking. The minimalist aesthetic is bolstered by the black-and-white conversion and the central composition with the cat positioned at the base of the image works beautifully.

Look up shots are a mainstay of architecture photography and a great chance to capture some really neat abstracts. We like how the blue sky is visible through this translucent ceiling. The image has been exposed to perfection. A great shot!