Angles

Angles.

Photography is a lot about angles.  New angles, different angles, low angles, high angles - am I sounding enough like Bubba in Forrest Gump when he was talking about all the ways to cook up shrimp?

I will be posting - from time to time - pictures of me with respect to the subject - and the consequent images resulting from this.

This is important because as a photographer - composition is a lot about at which angle you are shooting.    Seeing pictures of a photographer with respect to their subject - can help give you an idea of how they get the images they do.

So here's one of me.  I love this picture because it's me, taking pictures of my baby - and my love, lovin' on me.  I'm doing something I love with the people I love.

Life can't get any better than this right?

I am seated on the bench - shooting with my subject facing the light source - and along the line of the bench.

This results in this silly, very mischevious, face of my son:

Straight out of the camera.  No changes in Photoshop.  Even though it could probably use some.

I chose this setup because 1) I was lazy and didn't want to get up.  Ok...not really.  But it was a huge motivating factor.  :)

First, I will address lighting.  In this situation, your first inclination may be to sit your subject on the bench, stand directly in front of said bench, and shoot towards that big window.  This means one of your largest and closest light sources is now shining straight into your lens and not illuminating your subject.  This can work to your advantage if you are looking for a silhouette or a "darker" picture.  However, I really was not.

By facing my subject to the window, I gained a natural light source and did not have to rely much on flash.

Second, I will address composition.  Let's go back to the subject sitting on the bench.  You could get some interesting images if you included the gorgeous mosaic tiling on the floor of the Library of Congress (where this image was taken).  I'm not going to say taking a picture directly straight on wouldn't have resulted in something too.

I'm just saying in this instance, I liked this angle.

I shot along the length of the bench and got a upper viewpoint of my subject.  Kind of something different for a boring bench in the Library of Congress huh?  Now, your subject has an interesting expression and the wood tones of the bench come into play in the picture to give it a different texture.  You avoid any "background noise" of blinds or other random wall things hanging around.

Long story to say - when taking pictures - pay attention to your light source.  And try something different.  You may be surprised at what comes out.

Bises,
La Lume

P.S.  I have a sneak peek coming up!  So excited about it!

P.P.S.  While this tidbit of advice is up there - I am hardly a super-expert-end-all-be-all-God's-gift-to-photography person.  I am still learning so much - every time I take my camera out of its case.  I just want to share what I learn with others.