Change your Angles

I have learned a lot in the ten years that I have been doing professional grade photos. I could go on and on about how I got started but then I would be contributing to the blogs that make you scoll endlessly until you find the actual information in them- That's not this blog.

I had a family photo session at the Armstrong pumpkin patch and after having an absolute BLAST with these wonderful people my sister-in-law, who was involved in the family photos, started posing for me.

I took a handful of photos and went through them, not really sure what I was looking for, but just wanting them to be as beautiful as they were in my head. After capturing this one, I looked over it and wasn't happy with how it looked on my screen. I moved, got down into the dirt and told Tamieka to do exactly what she had before, but look down instead of out over the patch.

It changed the entire "feeling" of the image! Instead of losing my subject in the background I was able to fixate on her by just changing my angles and getting lower with the shot. With weddings I would reccomend almost the exact opposite unless you are shooting from further away, and also it depends on what kind of background you have/what you wish to show.

Both of these images had a more "dramatic" feel to them which is why I got low, I captured the background as well as making the bridal party the focus of the shot.

When closer to the couple I often stay level with them or slightly above them to keep all of the proportions correct. Brides (and women in general) appreciate the higher angles so they aren't looking low and changing what they naturally look like.

Shooting different angles and expanding on what you're comfortable with will make you a better photographer.

Always experiment with your work. Be comfortable and compitent with everything you do and if you're not- Keep Practicing! Always be open to learning new things, I have found that sharing knowledge with people, new or seasoned in the business, HELPS. It helps so much because sometimes you can get stuck in your ways, seeing something from someone else's perspective can change an entire set of photos for you.