Get Low to Shoot High - Go Wide for Compositional Details

A photograph can convey almost every imaginable emotion from any number of perspectives. After all, that is what photography is all about, capturing the emotion of the moment. Too often though, we photographers tend to always work from eye level when in reality we should, a great deal of the time, elevate or drop our camera perspective. Oddly enough, changing our camera angle and perspective will often enhance the desired effect we visually desire, but sometimes fail to capture. Dropping the camera low will actually help us capture the sense of bigness and using a wide angle lens will help define important compositional details.

Take this image for instance. The camera was actually placed inside a shallow ditch so it would be at the lowest possible point in the composition. A somewhat of a wide angle lense, (18mm which has a crop factor of around 25mm), ( a 14mm would have been better), was employed to capture the bigness of the sky.

By tilting the lens upward and framing the fence posts against the sky, then including only a minimal amount of the ground, the fence post in essence takes on a more important element within the composition and acted like a pointer toward the sky. Had the camera position been at eye level, the post would have blended into the background and would not have provided such a dramatic representation. The important elements here were the sky and the fence. Going low allowed them to be given priority.

The waterfall photo used a similar approach. The camera was placed a few inches above the outflow stream that led back to the waterfall. By angling the camera toward the top of the falls, the lower perspective enhanced the tallness of the ravine and gave the falls priority over the ravine and used the flow of the stream as a pointer.

Using a wide angle lens also captured compositional details by using a perspective that leads the eye to the main subject. Details in this case was less about minute subtleties and more about enhancing the main subject.



The image of the guys is another example of how using a low perspective enhances the composition. I wanted the young men to look bigger than life, to give them an appearance of being in a dominant position, that sort of "Bond, James Bond" atmosphere. This pose would not have worked had it been taken at eye level. Also, there is a sense of leading lines here as well, and there is a degree of framing provided by the background trees.

That brings up another subtle point. Sometimes we forget to remember the background and how it affects the composition. Always be careful about what is called "Convergence" where elements within the composition cross and interconnect. Things like a tree limb coming out of a person's head can ruin an otherwise great image. A little bit of extra spacing obtained with a subtle movement of the camera angle will often solve an irritating convergence.

The idea then is to use camera angles that will provide a unique and interesting perspective as opposed to always shooting from eye level. Think about what you want the finished image to look like, then use a camera angle that will best generate that effect. Go low to enhance the tallness of something, and getting low while shooting wide captures compositional details that tell the story. A simple change of position can have a big impact on the effectiveness of a photograph.