5 Minutes for Photography: Creative Camera Angles

February 19, 2009 by CarrieB

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If there is one thing we moms all have in common — we love to have tons of great photos of our kids!

So, whether you are fanatical about taking photos or you are holding that new digital camera desperately wishing you wish you knew how to make it take those great shots you want, this new column will give you some ideas to inject extra creativity into your photography.

We’ll focus on simple things that anyone, with any camera, can do. And there will be lots of examples along the way…

Creative Camera Angles

Let’s start this series with the most important element of a good photo — composition. By which I mean, basically, “Make it look interesting!”

For a long time, 90% of my photos were taken like this:

Occasionally they came out really cute. But, after a while… all the photos pretty much look the same.

So, I challenged myself with, “No more boring photos!” The camera was allowed to shoot from anywhere BUT at my eye-level standing a few feet away from the subject.

And I discovered two new ideas that totally changed the composition, which I’ll talk about here.

First, try shooting down at your subject from directly above.

Digital cameras nowadays make this really easy, because you don’t have to hold the camera up to your eye all the time to see through the viewfinder — you can hold it out at arm’s length, tilted down a bit, and still get a good idea of what you’re shooting from the preview on the back of the camera.

This picture is one of my favorites… the all-white background was thanks to a recent snowfall, one of the first our son had ever seen. He’s still a bit uncertain about the whole business, as you can tell by his expression.

When you’re shooting at arm’s length from above the subject, it’s important to:

To start with, pick a subject who’s short. (Little kids are ideal.)
Always have them look up at you! (Otherwise you’ll just see a head of hair.)

Zoom your camera out as wide-angle as possible, but move the camera fairly close to the subject. This will emphasize the unusual angle, and also make it easier for you to keep the subject in the frame.
For shooting several people together, you can take picture by leaning over a balcony or stair railing and shooting down toward the floor below. This can make a fun family portrait, like this one we took of some friends:

Give this a try, and see how it works for you!

Next, try shooting up at your subject from below. (This usually means “ground level”, as anything lower than that takes a bit too much effort!)

Tilt the camera up slightly so that you don’t get too much of the ground in your photo. This gives you a completely different viewpoint that normal:

Here, my camera was just an inch or two off the surface of a patch of daisies, angled up to bring in the sky. (On days where there are wispy clouds above, this gives a great effect.)

This works well if the subject is looking away from the camera, for a more candid look. (Especially if kids are playing and you can take the photo without distracting them.) Like this photo from our son’s 2nd birthday party, VERY excited about having just unwrapped this book:

(He gets his love of books from me…)

For infants and babies, bringing the camera down to their level brings out a lot more of their features and expressions. And a game of “peek-a-boo” can turn into great pictures…

(I keep telling my husband we need to have more kids, if only to diversify our family photos!)

Now, get out your own camera and try out some new ideas. Post some favorites on your own blog, and add it to our Mr. Linky:

And if you like, you can display a 5 Minutes for Photography button in your post to help your readers find more photo posts.

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Carrie B and her husband Jonathan are Oregon wedding photographers, and you can see more of their recent photos on their photography blog. She’s also a staff reviewer for 5 Minutes for Books, and operates her own book review blog as well!

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