When people come to me and ask about how they can improve their photographs there are many things that come to mind, usually I give some advice about light quality or good focusing technique and then after the conversation I think to myself 'I really should have told them about the importance of perspective!' You see, there are many different elements that can go into the creation of a visually interesting photograph such as: Light - color, intensity, quality & directionality all greatly influence the final image Composition - the placement of your subject within the frame and the consideration of foreground and background elements are key aspects to consider in any photograph Depth of Field - discussed in a previous tutorial post, DoF manipulation has the ability to tranform an image in many ways Color, Texture & Contrast are also relevant tools that a photographer has at their disposal, its the manner in which these elements and others are combined to create an image that make the image more or less appealing to the viewer. As you might have guessed by the title of this post, there is another major element of photography that is often overlooked but is no less important and which has the potential to be VERY impactful, it is known as Perspective. There are a lot of different ways that your perspective can be used to add a little pizzaz to an otherwise ordinary image, but before I get too much into that let me explain a little about why I believe the use of perspective is so effective! I've given this a lot of thought and I really believe that people are used to seeing things the same way most of the time - from their normal eye level with a pretty standard viewing distance. When you actually change the perspective from eye level to something above or below or to something much closer or farther than the usual viewing distance, you immediately increase visual impact of a photograph. Sounds simple right? Well it is - but it's just not always easy. Shooting like this often means you can't be no punk! as my uncle used to tell me...sometimes getting a different perspective that works means you gotta get down on the ground or climb up in a tree or whatever, you can't be scared of a little extra effort or perhaps a bit of dust on your pretty new trousers. With all that said, lets talk about using perspective artfully to enhance your photos and increase your storytelling abilities. As I said there are many different ways to use perspective - you've probably all seen the examples where someone in the foreground appears to be 'holding up' the leaning tower of Pisa, which is really off in the distant background - that's known as 'forced perspective' and is just one way to make creative use of the tool in photography. I've pulled together the following samples to help illustrate my point about the use of perspective: Here is a low angle which creates an unusual view of a loving couple - this shot benefits from an even more dramatic view because of the use of a wide angle 14mm lens in conjunction with the extremely low camera position.
Another exreme low angle gives a different than normal view that uses leading lines on the road to also draw the eye in to the group
Here are two samples of closer than normal perspective, one from a high angle as well, which I think adds intimacy to the photos.
In this photo of Tameka the camera is tilted to slant the horizon and give a humorous photo a little more impact, note that this horizon tilting effect would not have been possible in this case without also using a low camera perspective.
This is another sample of a high angle, I picked this photo because it's a good example of a view that most would otherwise never see of the couple dancing and that makes it more visually appealing in my opinion.
Finally, note that low angles are usually the best way to photograph small children - if you try shooting them from an adult perspective the resulting photo generally loses a lot of it's impact - partly because when you look at the picture, once again you are seeing them exactly the same way that you always see them!
So hopefully this has been a little food for thought, if nothing else maybe some of you fellow parents will grab your cameras, then get out there and get on your knees once in a while for a brand new perspective on your young ones. Anyone interested in sending me some samples of their interesting perspective photos to be featured here on the blog for a follow-up post feel free to do so - just click the 'contact me' link and attach the photo to your email message along with a description of the shot. Now get on out there and shoot someone! :) |
