Photographing Children and pets
Children and pets are closer to the ground than most of us. If you kneel or sit down you will have a much better shot of their face and the world as they see it. Experiment with your angles. How does shooting down on them look? If you get down low and shoot up at them does that make them look more powerful? Does it say something different about them?
If you have a dog, lie down on the ground and try and get them to run towards you. Use a high shutter speed to freeze the action. Hopefully you will get a great shot with flying ears, paws in full flight, and a very happy facial expression. Sometimes our pets lie in hilarious positions - try a bird eye view (shooting from above).
Architectural Photography
When pointing the camera up at a building, we get an effect called Key stoning or tomb stoning. This is when the building looks as if it is leaning in. Of course there are “transform tools” in programmes like Capture One, Lightroom and Photoshop that enable you to correct this in post.
You can minimise it by trying to try and keep your camera on the same plane as your subject to avoid those sloping lines.
You will even notice that it makes a difference if you keep it in mind for mobile photography, you probably instinctively try and hold your phone so that it is straight.
Aerial and drone photography
We now have the possibility to photograph subjects as they have never been seen before. If you are lucky to be able to take pictures from a plane, remember to use a high shutter speed, good depth of field and make sure you are focussed on the ground and not the window. If you have a drone, think about all the wonderful things that you can reveal that we are normally oblivious to.
Experiment
Try really exploring your next subject. Try the “up, down, right, left” approach and see what you come up with, experiment with different focal lengths and distances. Try and mix up your standard approach to a subject and have fun trying new things out.
Landscape Photography
We all know the principle of a good image needing a foreground, middle and background. Think about the best way to frame your shot. Do you want to shoot down through the tree branches, from ground level with rocks in the foreground? Try and find the best angle for your composition that really puts your viewer in that spot so that they feel like they are there.
Lens Choice
As always, this plays a really important role. Robert Capa, the famous war photographer and member of the Magnum group said “if your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” He was known to use an inconspicuous 35 mm camera.
The less bulky your gear, the more freedom you will have. Experiment with taking pictures that will make the viewer feel like they are right in amongst the crowd.
Finding a Viewpoint
Photographing People
Often models are photographed from a lower angle. Their legs go on forever and they look assured and glamorous. However, most mere mortals don’t look particularly good if the camera is angled at our nostrils right?
It is often much more flattering, to shoot from a slightly higher angle, especially with older subjects. Don’t go too high or it will look really obvious, but standing on a step can achieve this easily or on the high end of a slope.
You can also try a bird’s eye view of your friends lying on the ground, or a worms eye view such as the one above