Do you ever feel like you are taking the same photos time and time again? Then it might be time to mix it up so you can get more creative photographs!
Most of the time we tend to stick to the same shooting position when taking photographs – in the case of children, this is usually from standing slightly above them, shooting down a little bit on them. Whilst that’s fine occasionally, it can get a bit dull when every image is taken from that exact same vantage point.
Therefore a very easy way to make your photographs look more creative and engaging is simply to change the angle that you take the photograph from. The good news is you can do this with ANY camera – your point and shoot, a DSLR or even your camera phone!
Here are some suggestions and examples for mixing up your angles.
Shoot from Eye Level
Shooting from the same eye level as your subjects creates an instant connection, and helps anyone viewing the photos to feel more immersed in the scene. All you need to do is make sure that the camera is directly parallel to your subject. This means if your subject is lying on the floor on their tummy, so are you! So, you can be standing, sitting, crouching or lying down – wherever you need to be to get the camera on the same level as your subject.
Here are some examples of images taken at eye level:
Shoot from Above
A really fun angle to shoot from is directly above your subject, so you are getting a bird’s eye view. It can add a whole new dimension to a photograph (especially since it’s a not a view we usually see) and can sometimes really help tell the story better. The trick here is to get right up and over your subject so that the scene you are photographing looks “flat”.
Again, it’s easier to show rather than tell, so here are some more examples, this time of images taken from above.
Shoot from Below
Again, this isn’t an angle we tend to shoot from, so it tends to give you a really interesting and unusual image!
One thing to avoid is shooting any type of portrait from underneath. That’s because you end up looking right up their nose, which isn’t the most flattering of angles for most people 🙂
As a side note, it’s also a really great way to show height – so if you are photographing your child jumping on the bed, getting down and shooting from below will make that jump look even higher!
Shoot from behind
Why not try getting around the other side of your subject and shooting them from behind? Sometimes it can be a wonderful way to take an image on its own, or you could shoot from over the shoulder of your subject (leaving them partially in the frame) so you are taking a photo from their perspective.
Next time you find yourself taking a picture, think about whether you can take it from a more interesting angle. One of my favourite exercises is this: Take the first picture from a “normal” shooting position, then move around your subject 360 degrees. Move around in a circle, taking pictures as you go, so you are capturing them straight on, from the side, and from behind, and then the other side. Then get up and over your subject, before getting down underneath. This little shooting “formula” is a great way to get a range of photographs from one activity, plus I bet you get an image you LOVE taken from an angle you might not have first thought of!
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Audrey
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