A Familiar object in an unusual Place or Setting?

Question

I have to take two photographs of familar object/s in unusual settings or places and I'm just lookign for any ideas you may have?
Thanks :)

Answer 1

I agree with Nyadastar. Usually reversing inside and outside is a good place to start. Here is some more advice:

1) Go for the extreme
2) Go for an emotional reaction

This means, for instance, put a bicycle or a motorcyle on a couch or even in bed (with the sheet pulled half way up). Make us react to the "dirtiness" or the inappropriateness of it.

Also, you can exploit our emotional attachments to the objects. Putting a toothbrush outside in a pile of manure is almost too easy. But you see how you can get an emotional reaction by the stark contrast between object and place?

You may want to be a little subtler than the toothbrush. In fact, you could actually try to find real-life examples. The one that comes to mind is shoes by the side of the road. How come there are so many? Are there that many people who get mad at someone and toss their shoes out the window? Another example is boys playing with dolls and girls with monsters. That's a good one because you are forcing the viewer to confront his/her own stereotypes.

Oh! Speaking of dolls... that's the perfect kind of object to use. We have emotional reactions to dolls. Plus, they are symbols of childhood and innocence. Don't just put the doll in the dirt, though. That's almost cliche. Put it in a bunch of cactus!

One more thing. To add to the "offsetting" quality, you may want to place the object upside down, or off kilter. Don't just pose it.

Hope this helps! Good luck!!!

(By the way, this is a great lesson in "context versus content," which is a huge but hidden phenomenon in just about everything.)

Answer 2

oh this sounds fun...maybe this is what I'll have to be doing when I start my photography clasess. Anywho, you can take a picture of a chair thats in the middle of the street.or maybe even sneakers on top of a toilet, or a clock laying under a tree, if you don't like these ideas..then ways you can think of ideas is by looking around your house (for example) and choose one object and think of a place where you'd never see that object. If it's feasible enough, then create the magic with your camera. Best Wishes ♥

Answer 3

A beautiful dinner place setting (wine glass, plate, etc) in a bathtub, or set out on a bathroom sink with a bar of soap, all wet and bubbly and a crumpled towel.
A toothbrush, open toothpaste and a glass of water on the hood of a car.
A tent, sleeping bag and campfirein the middle of the livingroom.
A plant in a frying pan, on the stove.

Answer 4

Go to a department store. Pick up a pair of cowboy boots or work boots and set them in the middle of a bunch of fluffy houseshoes. In the produce section, put some zuccini in a rack filled with cherries. I think the principal theme you could work with is the juxtaposition of the feminine and the masculine. Oh, and ask the management if its ok to do this!
Other random choices:
big/small underwear
fishhooks and bandaids

Have fun.

Answer 5

What a great question ... this one is making me think! How about:

A high chair on a football/baseball field

A battery underwater

A hammer in a china cabinet

A lit candle in the snow

A bed in a kitchen

A wall phone in the shower

.... I'm dry for now, but this was fun. Thank you.