Change the angle. Every time I find myself not being fully satisfied with an image, I tell myself this one short sentence. And I think it’s an important lesson in both photography and life; when something doesn’t work, you have to change the angle. Or your perspective if you will.
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Continue doing what you’re doing, and you’ll keep getting the same result
I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard this being said several times the last few years. But it’s true, you can’t keep doing the same old thing and expect different results. In photography you won’t make interesting or unique images if you shoot the same angles, compositions, lights and subject again and again. You have to change things up, and one of the easiest things to change is the angle you’re shooting from.
Change the angle to emphasize traits
Not only will a changing the angle help you get a more varied and diverse portfolio of images. If you get good at shooting from different angles, you’ll be able to change the angle to emphasize traits in your portraits.
For instance; if you want your portrait to show a powerful and strong person, you won’t get that result if you keep shooting from eye-level. Change the angle, go lower and voila; you’ve introduced power in your portrait.
Change the angle to tell a more interesting story
Whenever I’m out photographing my kids on their adventures, I find it a challenge to tell their story through my images. You know a small jump to us, is almost a short flight to them. And if I am to tell their story of an outdoor adventure, I have to be able to show the world the way they see it.
To do that I have to change my perspective in two ways; I have to put myself in their place to find the right mindset, and I have to change the angle to be able to shoot what they experience.
Small changes can go a long way
Sometimes I try to capture a detail that has to be just right in order to be even remotely interesting. In these scenarios I find that even the smallest change of the angle can make a huge difference.
When capturing details you want your composition to be on point. Both foreground and background to be clean enough to not distract from the subject, and the subject placed in the image in a way that your eye is lead directly to it. A difficult task, I’m not saying I’ve mastered it by any means. But every time I’m not fully satisfied my inner voice goes; change the angle. Even a slight change can make or break an image.
Time for a change
I hope you enjoyed this short post on changing the angle. This year has been difficult when it comes to photography for me. I’ve been bummed out because I haven’t been able to shoot as much as I’d like to.
But today my inner voice told me to change the angle, and I’ve decided to do something about the lack of photography days instead of just being bummed out about it. So next week I’m heading off to a place that let’s me shoot as much as possible before and after work. I’m super stoked, and look forward to sharing the results.
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