Change your perspective: shoot higher, lower and closer
Most photos are taken from eye level while standing. Moving your camera up, down or closer makes ordinary scenes look fresh.
The quickest way to make your photos look different from everyone else’s is to stop shooting from standing eye level. Changing your viewpoint changes the relationships between objects, the background and the mood.
Go low
Crouch or lie down. Low angles make subjects look taller and more powerful, simplify backgrounds by placing subjects against the sky, and turn floors and streets into leading lines. Use a flip-out screen to avoid lying in the dust.
Go high
Shoot from a balcony, a staircase or by holding the camera overhead. High angles reveal patterns, show layouts of tables and rooms, and make flat-lay food and product shots possible.
Get close
Move in until the subject fills the frame, then move a little closer. A different distance changes perspective more than any lens choice.
Shoot at the subject’s level
For children and pets, kneel to their eye level. The photo immediately becomes more personal.
Make it a habit
For every scene, take your first shot, then deliberately shoot one higher, one lower and one closer. Often the fourth photo is the best.
