You Gotta Have An Angle

If you want to make photographs that are eye catching you should look for various angles and elevations from which to shoot. This might mean something as simple as squatting a little for an upward looking shot or standing on a chair for the opposite.

Look around for a place that will change your shooting angle without putting you in danger. I always look for a riser, stage, stairway, balcony, anywhere I can place myself for a few shots that will give my client additional choices.

This shot is from Generations Hall during the wine raffle I shot for the MPI Gulf States Chapter. The space wasn’t open as part of the evening but, well, it wasn’t exactly restricted except for that closed gate that happened to bump open when I got close to it.

The client may not be impressed by the unusual angles, but I include them just in case they hit the spot. If you want to impress with your photographs, consider setting up a shot and then thinking how a different angle might improve it.

Keep Your Eyes Moving

I'm borrowing advice from Pete Sousa, famous White House photographer under Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.(He won't mind.) His job and mine were similar in 2 ways. He was required to follow people and be ready to shoot at any moment and he used the same selection of equipment as I, probably because it suites the job so well.

He advises photographers to turn our heads right and left and don't be surprised if a good shot is revealed. That's something I try to remember wherever and whenever I'm shooting, for any reason.

For this shot I was back stage as people were waiting for their turns to go on stage during a convention. I was taking a break, resting my feet before resuming my travels through the grand ballroom. In my opinion this view of the woman waiting in the wings invites the viewer to imagine her emotions. For our purposes it's just an example of a shot I made because I looked around, camera ready, and grabbed the shot a moment before the lady walked on stage and began passionately telling the assembled acolytes how lucky they were to be employed by such a benevolent company. I developed the shot in "black & white" because I think it looks more dramatic.

Let your mind and your eyes wander and grab a bunch of images while doing so. You'll probably delete most of them but you may find a sparkling gem among them.