Taking Better Photos: Change Your Perspective

This is the second in a blog series I'm working on about taking better photos. A little later than planned, but here we go. If you missed the first one about Looking for the Light, you can find it HERE.  This series will revolve more about the creative side of taking photos, as opposed to the technical aspects of things like shutter speed, aperture and ISO.  Those things are definitely important as it is the controlling of your camera that allows you to create the images that you want, not simply buying a big, expensive body and lens. But for now, my focus (pun intended) is to get you to see the world a little bit differently and capture it that way.

We all get stuck in ruts, in many areas of our lives.  We get up at the same time each day, get ready in the same order, eat the same breakfast foods, drive the same routes to work, read the same kinds of books...you get the idea. The same thing can be applied to taking photos.  More often than not, we grab the camera and take it from the exact position we are in. I'd venture to say you are standing up, observing whatever you want to take a picture of.  However, the world can look very different if you change it up a bit.

Let's talk about photographing children.  Little kids are just that. Little.  The world looks very different to them at their eye level.  What would happen if you got down to their level and took the photo instead. You get a much more intimate photo than one from a birds eye view.  Or perhaps, your munchkin is laying down. Get the camera at the same level as their eyes and it all changes.

At this time of year, beautiful flowers are all around us. If you want to photograph the flowers, chances are you stand there, look at it and take the photo. But, what happens if you take the shot from directly above the flower instead of the side? Or, what if you get down and shoot it from underneath? It's a totally different feel.  It may feel weird laying down on the sidewalk to get a photo from a different angle. Fortunately, I learned to tune everyone else out (who most likely doesn't care anyway) and do what I needed to do to get the shot I want.

Details are one of my favorite things to photograph.  I often refer to myself as a zoom junkie, as my zoom lens is my go to lens, 90% of the time!  I love to get in close and really focus on some smaller part of the scene in front of me. Yes, that means that you may be cropping out other aspects of whatever you are photographing, cutting off someone's head or hands. If you do it with intent and artistically, it can definitely work.  This one is reflective of my daughter's age right now. If I let her wear these every day, she would.  I'm not kidding.  I wish I were.  When you zoom in, you let your viewer know what you want them to really focus on in the photo. 

So, the next time you plan to click your shutter, ask yourself if you can find a more creative view, take the photo from a different angle?  Squat down lower, lay down on the ground, get way up high, zoom in closer and find a detail you want. Move to a different spot before you take the shot to see what it does with the light (per the first post in this series).  See what happens...I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised and your photos will have a whole lot more variety to them. 

Go forth and click!