Tips on Changing Your Perspective in Photography

Layne Kennedy

Duration: 7 mins

Description

Switching your perspective in photography can help you come up with photos that stand out from the crowd. If you’re willing to lay on the ground and use a beanbag for a tripod, you can plan out stunning fall photos from an unusual view. This session will cover this and other changes in perspective.

When shooting fall photos, a different perspective can make all the difference. Instead of a standard shot of reds and oranges, you can come up with a different look. In this session, you’ll learn how to approach perspective in photography and produce amazing images. Photographer Layne Kennedy notes that most of the fall photography we see is taken from a standing position. Simply getting down on the ground and shooting up at the scene can produce a new view, something added to the photograph you’re chasing.

Shoot from the Ground up for a Different Perspective in Photography

In the video, Layne captures shots of a woman walking through the leaves, putting the leaves into motion. He can’t use his tripod because he wants to get too close to the ground, so he sets his camera on a bean bag of his own invention in lieu of a tripod. He shows you how to prefocus on a predetermined spot — using manual focus — and shoot into the sun as the woman walks back and forth, in and out of his shot. He looks for a little bit of motion, trying to time the shot as her foot leaves the ground. He shoots her walking from different angles, using different illumination, sometimes with a flash, and has her change her speed and foot movement as well to move the leaves more.

Layering Leaves in the Sun

Here’s another perspective in photography: try shooting high rather than low by layering two fall leaves together — one large and one small — and holding them up to the sun, highlighting how the backlight illuminates the leaves and shows the small leaf through the large one.