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Create Impact Using Unusual Angles by Russ Burden An oft-overlooked key to creating a successful image is the angle at which it is taken Article rating: 10.00

What constitutes a successful image? First and foremost is the quality of light. Add to the mix great composition, a clean background, sharp focus, good exposure, and good subject choice. Sounds to me as if you have a winner. But there is an often overlooked key ingredient that nets eye grabbing shots with tremendous impact. Rather than simply raise the camera to your eye or create a composition from atop a fully extended tripod, find an angle that’s unique yet still incorporates all of the above factors. Get down low, find a high vantage point, walk around your subject and photograph it from the side or from behind, get up close and personal using a wide angle, or simply tilt the camera on an axis somewhere between vertical and horizontal.

Of all the options I listed above, getting down low is the easiest. Rather than extend your tripod and work from the comfortable standing position that most photographers use, leave the legs collapsed and sit in front of your rig. While this may not be your first thought if you’re out photographing skyscrapers, I offer you this thought. What if you were to strap on an ultra wide, find a fire hydrant or other low to the ground subject synonymous with an urban environment and incorporate it into the composition??????? You now have a unique angle with a prominent foreground and main subject. I offer you another scenario: most parents photograph their kids who are toddling along the ground from a standing position. How about getting down on your belly and photograph your son or daughter straight on rather than looking down upon them? The same holds true for any other low to the ground subject. While I was growing up, the expression “Get Down” was a cool thing to do. Time to resurrect the saying from a photographic standpoint so...... Get Down!

High vantage points offer a bit more of a challenge but net a lot of impact when utilized. A safe way to create the effect is to photograph from the second story of your home or find an apartment or office building and photograph from a high point. Look for long shadows that can be incorporated into the composition in that shape and form become important elements. If you’re agile and secure with your athletic prowess, climb a tree to put yourself  in an advantageous place. How about simply heading to an overlook that provides a view of what’s below? What may seem mundane from the ground may take on graphic and interesting qualities from up high.

Sometimes a unique angle can be a simple matter of looking at your subject from an angle that many photographers may not use in that the obvious one is to photograph the subject from the front. With people, go behind them and have them turn just their heads to look over their shoulder and capture them with a big smile. Have you ever explored the backside of a sunflower and photographed a small portion with a macro lens?

Two trends that have become very popular have the photographer use a wide angle lens and get very close to a subject and use the resulting distorted perspective to create a unique look. If you have an ultra wide, give it a go. The other is a technique used by many wedding and advertising photographers where the horizon is skewed about 45 degrees off axis. Rather than hold the camera level with the horizon, its given an exaggerated and unnatural slope. While it’s not for everyone, it does provide a very contemporary feel.

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.

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