One of the biggest challenges we face as photo enthusiasts is the self-belief that we are not creative enough. Is that you? Did you miss out on that creative gene that everyone else seems to have? I believed that for so long myself. My dad and sister can pick up and play any instrument and are excellent illustrators. My stick figures are barely recognisable and I cannot even play the kazoo.

Working in the technical field of photography for 20 years, there was no scope for creativity. I believed that was my strength and I was one of those technical types. I discussed this in more detail in episode one.

Surveying our wonderful community, the two top obstacles to reaching your desires were photo composition and creativity. Have you found yourself in a location and just standing there thinking I do not know what to capture. That is covered in the 14-Day Photo Creativity Challenge (Link below).

We all scroll through our social media feeds and are inspired by amazing photos such as National Geographic. The majority of accounts now on Instagram for example are curated photos from a number of sources. Some of those photos take months to prepare, setup and execute.

Creativity starts by learning some basic design and visual communication concepts and principles. The key to an engaging, interesting photo is learning what attracts, holds and controls the viewer's attention. This knowledge is far better than a smartphone upgrade!

In this episode, I share how to take a mundane, simple subject and push yourself to capture nine interesting photos. You can start with different angles, perspectives, lighting and the inclusion of props. etc.

This activity is not about the end result. It is about getting out there and pushing yourself to try new things and most importantly experiment. After a while, we all end up in a creativity rut, where we get bored with our own photos. This is a great exercise to come back to on a regular basis as it is quick easy to do.

Related: Latest photo capture tips and technique articles