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I'm an Isle Of Wight based photographer Oliver Howells, and I want to show the world that you can still think creatively even with limited equipment at your disposal.

I accompany each photo idea with clips from behind the scenes allowing people to understand my work and teaching them my creative way of thinking.

If you're looking for more photo inspiration, tips, tricks and hacks, follow my social channels linked below.

More info: Instagram | tiktok.com | oliverhowells.co.uk | YouTube

#1

UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

oliver_howells Report

the child
Community Member
4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When your watch is better at walking away from explosions than you

Danny Ruiz
Community Member
4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I really like this entire series post. Thumbs up if I could find the thumb...LOL!

Lolliegag
Community Member
4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Is the left side chocolate cake?

Roxanne D'souza
Community Member
4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Its crushed tinfoil, in case you missed the text. Light bounces off its surface.

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My background in photography originally started 8 years ago, when I studied photography at A level. Since then I've been practicing every day, learning the craft and developing my own style. I've been fortunate enough to now work with brands across the world, as well as inspiring people with my creative ideas.

I saw that a small group of photographers started uploading behind the scenes on TikTok, such as Jordi Koalitic and Alex Stemp. I then realized this dance app was no longer a dance app, it was a way to express your talents and abilities, so I decided to share my passions with the world too.

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    #2

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Daria Z
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Everything looks better with water droplets 😇

    ThatGuv
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    *Splashes water on my face*

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    Sergio Bicerra Descalzi
    Community Member
    4 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When I worked in advertisement, we added silicone spray to the bottles, so water stuck in tiny bubbles.

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    #3

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Kira Okah
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    Can't soap hurt plants though?

    Joselito El Zapatero
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The amount of sensitivity and political correctness and other s**t on this page is insane.

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    The easiest photography hack I've shared is using tinfoil to create a bokehlicious product backdrop. To start this hack, you need a light source shining onto a piece of tinfoil, then position your product a bit further in front of the tin foil. Your camera needs to use a wide aperture such as f/2.8 to isolate your subject, which will leave beautiful bokeh in the background.

    Making videos is currently a part-time job, but hopefully one day I'll be able to make it full-time. However, for now, I still run my own digital marketing business where I manage social media accounts and also create websites!

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    #5

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Studio setup is the hardest part, and it's where the photo idea begins! Lighting is so important and tricky to get right, so I spend a lot of time and effort setting up my photos before I'm happy with the final image. Photoshop makes the job so much easier, these tools allow you to then make those final tweaks, making any photo look polished.

    #6

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Danny Ruiz
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't sell screws, but I use this thechnique for small collectible items to sell online.

    Creativity can be so rewarding but also stressful. My best ideas are the most simple, but trying to think of something so basic that anyone can do it from home can sometimes be quite tricky. I love everything about the process of creating photos when I have the idea, but I dislike spending a lot of time on a project and making the decision to not even use the photo knowing that the idea didn't go to plan. As a photographer, you have to accept that creativity comes at its own pace, you won't always have a winning idea every day. Learning from your mistakes and failures will only help you learn and grow.

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    My words of wisdom to upcoming photographers would be that if you truly love taking photos then learn everything about it, practice every day, keep working and don't stop believing in yourself! I stand by the quote 'you're the creator of your own destiny,' so live the life you want and enjoy the things you love.

    #8

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    V 2000
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    and how do you train the butterflies?

    Phendrena
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They are magnetic fake butterflies, held in place by using strategically place paperclips. If you click on his extremely tiny grey name under the picture it'll take you to his TicTok page with all his videos. These two panel screengrabs don't help much.

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    Sergio Bicerra Descalzi
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She's pretending to read while watchin Netflix on her tablet.

    Grumble O'Pug
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You can see the damn light in her glasses.

    Gossameringue
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The watch kinda spoils the whole effect

    Bear Hall
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Spray molasses on subject for the butterfly effect?

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    In the near future, I plan to grow my skills even more, and hitting my set goals of 100k on Instagram and 500k on TikTok by the end of the year would be amazing. Hopefully I'll be able to inspire many more people and brands along the way. I know this is just the start, so I'm just riding the creative wave and seeing where it takes me.

    #11

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Chucky Cheezburger
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Nifty effect but doing that would give me a migraine in about 0.00359 seconds...

    Alphabet Soupy
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I bought some of that rainbow window film from Amazon and go crazy on sunny days lol

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    #12

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Hot Babushka
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i feel like it would be better of just the reflection, so it looks like it's submerged or maybe changing the lighting/adding some stuff around the top part so it's not just white. just my opinion tho

    Daniele Tigli
    Community Member
    4 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Intergalactic bomb by Lush

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    #15

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Lightningstar
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Holy crap i've seen back to the future and harry potter in the same article? this is the best article i've ever seen

    Andrew Gibb
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    getting the DeLorean to 88.8 mph is the hardest part

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    #16

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    V 2000
    Community Member
    4 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    wow i always thought it was some 3d stuff

    Sabienn
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sometimes it probably is, but a lot of times it's made by taking multiple photos and stacking them in Photoshop

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    Denny Cwiek
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't understand.

    Jyri Hakola
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Disassble the product, Take photos one by one, combine in photoshop.

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    #17

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Lyn Moffett
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Where did you get the tiny figures?

    F. H.
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    I like these pictures as illustrations or advertisments, but hate them when they are titeled "Artist creates miniature worlds!"

    #18

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    #19

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Aahzmandus Pervect
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So, to take a photo of a matchstick heart, you first have to make the said heart? Wow!

    Gossameringue
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    looks like one partner is just burned out

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    #20

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Chrissy Neibarger
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Some are pretty obvious at how they are done.

    tuzdayschild
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not to everyone Chrissy. If that's your real name.

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    #21

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Hime
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I take it that negative didn't know Christmas Vacation.

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    F. H.
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    I think they make these foreground-background pictures seem a bit to easy. Usually, either the fore- or background will be completely blurry when you take a picture like that with a phone or a non-adjustable camera. Especially in the dark.

    Sabienn
    Community Member
    4 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Most of the photos here cannot be recreated without a professional camera. For most of them, you would need to set the aperture and shutterspeed. And you would need to be able to edit the photos, so you would have to shoot in a raw format. Simple cameras, like point-and-shoot cameras and phone cameras, can only shoot in jpg. That means the camera already edits the photo a bit, and a lot of information gets lost. Because of that, editing them is more difficult, and often with worse results than when you edit a raw photo. Besides that, in photos like this one, the photographer actually wants the blurry foreground. If not, he would just change the aperture to make to foreground sharp, but the blurriness of the foreground makes the photo more interesting to look at, as your eyes get drawn to the face of the girl in this case

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    #22

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Robert Nilson
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Don't forget the water droplets, everything looks better with them!

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    #26

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    F. H.
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That might actually be easier to do in a photo editing programm. Including reading up on how to use it.

    N G
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Where can i buy superglue remover?

    Demi Zwaan
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And after taking the picture, photoshop it extensively to get different colors.

    Sabienn
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't see anything wrong with changing the color, except when it can create a false idea of how a product looks. But if the endgoal is just to have a great picture and while editing the photographer decides that another color would look better, I'm okay with it. It can create awesome effects.

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    #28

    UK Photographer Uses Household Items To Create Amazing Photo Hacks & Ideas

    oliver_howells Report

    Purple light
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Clippy found love 🥰

    Sarah
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've got that Eiffel Tower keychain ornament. You'll never guess where I bought it...

    just another bookish gay
    Community Member
    4 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    can you do one with two blue/pink or a yellow one next?

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