Getting a new perspective: the highs and lows of photography

Sometimes we as photographers get caught up in taking photos at our own eye level; we angle the view down on animals and plant life and up on trees. This can be great for portrait shots but sometimes it’s good to get a different perspective.

Get down low:
Getting low to the ground can create some incredible shots from what is an eye-opening perspective. Wildlife shots often work best from being at the animal’s eye level or the level that the plants or fungi are growing from.

So how low can you go? Well, laying the camera on the floor to include the leaf litter or hot concrete is about as low as you can go and it adds a great dimension to your images. Just have a look at the amazing selection of readers’ images below to see what we mean!

Being low down has its problems though; it can often be difficult to keep a steady hand if you are holding the camera, especially when trying to shoot small flowers or fungi. One way around this is to get yourself a neat little mini tripod. This way you can mess about with all the camera settings and make adjustments without altering the composition. You can get a Hama 4024 Mini Tripod for just a couple of quid online.

Dipper by Edinbirder

Giant Bluebells by owenfranssen

Cobbles make Wobbles by SimonAndrew

High as a kit by BenRobson

Crumpet by Shortwork Worstead Festival by DuncanAA

Getting high and mighty:
It’s not all about how low you can go though, sometimes it’s good to shake it up and get a higher perspective, and we mean the literal not the induced kind!

Having a high perspective can make for truly inspirational photographic compositions. Many people say that if they had one wish it would be to fly. Taking a high perspective for your photography gives people to see things from a new angle that they would have never experienced before.

Obviously it’s a little more difficult to achieve than low angle photography, due to the need to be higher than your own height lends you to do so. But not to fear as there is plenty of equipment out there to help you do it. Extendable monopods are a great way of getting to those new heights no matter what camera you have. There’s now even a new monopod that supports smart phone cameras, so you can get a sneaky shot over your friends’ heads as you hang out on the beach or huddle round a campfire. Click here to read more about the smart phone monopod.

The ability to shoot high up can be achieved with greater ease using one of the new smart cameras, which support WiFi, such as the new Samsung Galaxy Camera which will be available in October, or the existing Samsung EX2F, both of which can be linked to a smart phone, which acts as the shutter release trigger. All you have to do then is get the camera into position and get yourself in the shot. Just see our fantastic readers’ photos below to see what can be achieved!

Whitley Bay by Mim

City1 by MBOW

Long Shadows by AmandaK

Bridal Shoot 8 by MartinCastein

Bellagio Fountains by EllieC

Why not get out and about this weekend, whether it’s down low or up high, and experiment with taking shots from different angles. We’d love to see what you get up to, so why not upload your final shots to our online gallery under our brand new category, ‘high angle, low angle’. Enjoy the weekend and your new perspectives on photography!

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You can also get a really low perspective by taking your shot upside down. Try fixing your camera to a monopod, attach a cable release (or use an I.R. remote) to release the shutter. If you need to steady the camera close to the floor; throw down a bean bag on which to rest the top of the camera (now on the underside). Dirty floor? keep your bean bag clean and dry by placing it in a clean "nappy bag" or similar item, I once used an empty crisp packet but my bean bag smelled of cheese and onion for the res

Comment made by: PentaxPeter
18.09.12 12:04:08

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