When shooting people, I like to get just a little bit above eye level. When shooting straight on, especially when photographing someone taller than you, results are sometimes less than flattering. Look at the man in the photo on the left, and then compare it to the photo on the right. The only adjustment I made was to stand on a chair and ask him to lean forward just a bit. That slight adjustment results in a much more flattering snapshot that slims him down and eliminates the double chin. A bonus: the background is much less distracting and looking up at me with the sky behind me adds a sparkle to both of their eyes that is not there in the first one! Quick tips to be prepared for that ultra impromptu snapshot of guests who don’t like having their photo taken, but begrudgingly grant you just a moment to do it.
Tag Archives: angle
Grab Your Camera and a Towel and Head to the Beach for Fun Photos
It’s finally summer! And if your family’s like mine, beach figures heavily into the weekend. If you have young children that love to explore the beach, then get down on the sand with them. Make sure to bring a towel so that you can easily sit or even lay down close by in order to capture their explorations (and to keep sand on your hands to a minimum). Getting close and using a wide angle setting on your lens lets you show some more background to give a point of reference (see photos below). On bright sunny days, trying popping up your flash for some fill to eliminate harsh shadows from midday sun, and to add some light to your child’s face often hidden by cute sun hats. But don’t let cloudy days like we had here stop you form heading to the beach with your camera. The over cast sky is actually perfect for picture-taking. One note of caution: Salt water is an enemy of you camera. If the conditions are very “moist” on a hot hazy beach day, salt residue and water can collect on your camera and lens pretty quickly. Try putting your camera in a zip lock bag with a hole cut out for the front of the lens to stick out and be sure to use a UV filter. Clean the lens as soon as you can with lens cleaning fluid and a micro fiber cloth taking extra care to inspect for and remove any sand that may be on your lens before rubbing the lens. Then wash the cloth before using again after the beach. Store the camera back in your camera bag right after use to keep it out of the sun and elements. There are also special bags made for your camera to prevent any damage. Google rain coats for cameras.
Shoot From a Different Angle for a Meaningful Perspective
While visiting Boston over the Memorial Day weekend, we experienced a moving memorial to the fallen soldiers of Boston: 20,000 flags in the middle of The Boston Commons. Each flag represented a Massachusetts citizen who died in wars and military conflicts during the last 100 years. By shooting low (with the camera nearly on the ground as I knelt in front of the first line of flags) I was able to eliminate the distracting background of visitors and keep the focus on this sea of flags that really puts into perspective the staggering number of lives lost. The 50mm focal length setting combined with a wider open aperture of f/5.3 helped to compress the flags to give the image a painterly feeling as the seemingly never-ending rows of flags dissolves into the background.
Photographing a Spooky Jack O’Lantern

Happy Halloween!
Guest Post at Elementally Speaking
My friend CrisDee over at Elementally Speaking asked if I would guest post for her site where she shares with you ideas for creating, capturing and keeping family memories.(see the post below, or at http://elementallyspeaking.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/new-feature-photo-tips-from-stacie-errera/Thanks Cris!)