DID YOU GET MY GOOD SIDE?

Considerations for the physical perspective of the shot:

Manipulating perspective is a highly impactful composition technique to convey more information in your shot. In both these images, I adjusted angle and distance from the camera to include additional visually interesting components within the frame. But beyond that, my choice of angle and framing imparts added information, motion and emotion. In the image on the left, scale and movement in the background is captured by a unique perspective, thereby communicating a feeling of mass and importance. The photo on the right was taken with a perspective and choice of background subject that not only enables me to clearly capture a large number of people, it definitely conveys that this is a San Francisco based company, bathed in that great California vibe, but grounded in rich history.

Obviously, in these two cases the perspective alone doesn’t convey all this additional information. But without the use of atypical shot perspectives, that additional information, the scale and emotion can’t be captured. In many cases, changing perspective alone can add drama and emotion without bringing more components into the frame. And since most everything I photograph is three dimensional, tweaking the perspective allows me to capture different shadows and nuances that create different emotion from a single subject.

I often find it a fruitful practice to take a few unique angle shots at the end of every shoot. This not only creates an opportunity to discover a unique image that works even better for the purpose than was originally planned, I can see how the angles impact lighting, composition or other aspects of the particular subject and location. By blending control of perspective and creative lighting manipulation, I develop images that can evoke a range of information and emotions and get you a photo that better meets your needs.