Of course it’s not just still life objects that become more interesting to look at when you examine them from new angles – people do also.
People come in all shapes and sizes and to photograph them from the stock standard six foot high standing position just doesn’t do them justice.
Experiment with getting down as low as you can or find a way to climb above them and you might just find yourself discovering a new angle on your subject that adds that special something to how they express themselves in an image.
At a recent wedding I took the principle to extremes on occasion throughout the day and while the couple included a lot of more ‘standard’ shots in their album they also selected some of the more unusual angles as feature shots. Here are a few shots (excuse my lack of post production on them at this stage):
From Above
In this first shot we were lucky enough to be able to get on a bridge and shoot down onto a car park.
From Down Low
After taking some shots of them crouching down in front of their car I decided to get even lower for a few random and quick shots. I was using a wide angle lens that got plenty of sky (some a little too much of it).
Up Close
I think I might have freaked them out a little with this one when I shoved my camera (with wide lens) right in their faces. Getting right in close can be a bit much if your subjects are not comfortable with you but it certainly ads a unique perspective to portraits – particularly facial features.
Keep in mind that not every angle works for every person. Some of us have features that are shot better as a profile while for others of us a front on shot is much more flattering.
The key is to mix it up, try new things and take lots of shots where you can (some situations it’s more appropriate than others to lie flat on the ground or climb a tree).
Next in this series we’ll talk a little about finding angles to photograph children from.
