Welcome to #4 of Life Lessons from Photography School
Todays Photo Tip: Photographing from Different Angles
Contributing Photographer: Carla Ackermann
Some of the most admired images we have are those taken from a different perspective. A photo of an object taken from a daily perspective – the one we would normally view it from when we are just standing around, looking at it – may be a great photo. All the setting might be right, we could have some beautiful bokeh (blur) in the background that sets the object off, the lighting is perfect…. but somehow the picture is less than stunning. Try changing your perspective. Shoot the object from directly above (bird’s eye), or even directly below (dog’s). How does a child see the object? Take the picture from their perspective. Zoom in close to just a portion of the object, take a picture from the side, from the back. Experiment with all sorts of angles and see what you come up with. You are sure to fall in love with one of the images from a different perspective.
The first picture of this fishing boat is how I saw it sitting on the beach. Immediately I fell in love with this boat, so I took a picture. The image is lovely but I knew there was so much more to it. Walking around the boat I took several photos from different angles. If I had just stayed where I was, I would have missed all of these beautiful pictures.
Life can become more interesting and enjoyable when we try to see things from a new perspective as well. It can change something that is mundane and day-to-day into something new. For example, look at things through the eyes of a child. Have you noticed the wonderment they have over so many things? Think of a plain old ordinary box. To most adults, it is a storage container, but to a child, it is a fort, a ship, a car….. the list goes on and on. A change of perspective can help us in our spiritual lives as well. When you read a familiar bible story, think it through from the perspective of an observer, from the main character, or from the main character’s parent – God can teach us something new and bring a familiar story alive with a change of perspective.
Changing our perspective can also help us grow to be more empathetic and less judgmental. This is an area I certainly need to grow in! Perhaps we need to look at something frustrating that someone did through their eyes instead of our own. They could have a good reason for what they think or do based on their personal experiences. Everyone thinks through situations differently. Everyone has different experiences from their lives that influences what they do. Try to see things from someone else’s perspective and more often than not, our feeling will change as we understand where they are coming from and why the make the decisions they make.*
Take on a new perspective – it will change your photos and change your life!
* If this is an area of struggle in someone’s life, it doesn’t mean we say what they did was right or okay, but it does mean that we understand. Remember that we are all sinful and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23)! Seeing things from their perspective can help us realize that if we were in their shoes,we may have done the very same thing.
