When we talk about the highs of taking yearbook photos, we're not referring to the excited looks on peoples faces when they open the yearbook, or the thanks you get for the dedication you've put into creating a beautiful publication that will make their school memories last a lifetime. And when we talk about the lows, it's not the long hours working on layouts or the complaints that someone's name was spelled incorrectly. What we're really talking about is the many ways the same old subject can be captured from a multitude of angles to add interest and intrigue to your layouts.
Changing your perspective is one of the easiest ways to create a more compelling photo. Simply moving yourself and your camera higher or lower can take your viewer to a place from which they've never seen the subject before. Practice by thinking about taking each each subject and photo as a 5 part or 5 shot series...
Shot 1. Eye to Eye. Place your lens at exactly eye level with your subject or straight on to the action of what the subject is doing. For example if your subject is an artist sketching on a pad of paper, or a science student working on an experiment, your camera should be at the level of the person's eyes, or the level of the project they're working on. This can be accomplished by simply bending down or squatting lower when taking the photo so you're not looking down on what you're capturing. This allows you to really draw the viewer into the scene and establish a connection between the subject and the viewer so they feel a part of the action you're capturing.
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| Eye Level |
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| Eye Level |
Shot 2. A Step Above. Hop onto a chair or a table (or anything that gets you slightly higher than your subject) and shoot down on the scene from above. This slightly higher view gives the viewer more of a feeling of being a spectator as opposed to a participant in the scene. It can also allow the viewer to see more of what's going on than the eye to eye view. Let's take the same example of the artist or science student. Now, even from just a slightly higher angle, you can see not only the student and the pencil or test tube, but also the drawing itself or maybe some supplies on the desk. This angle can tell a broader story of the the entire scene instead of the intimate story of the people themselves.
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| A Step Above |
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| A Step Above |
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A Step Above
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Shot 3. A Step Below. Try taking a knee, sitting on the floor, or just bending over so you're at least slightly lower than your subject looking up at their face or at what their doing. This angle can add a larger than life feel or even add a sense of being overwhelmed by the surroundings. It can also help to eliminate distracting backgrounds. Take for example the photo above of the two students working at the computer. At the original higher angle, you've included bulletin boards, paper trays, doorways, etc. Now look at the same scene in the photo below, taken from a kneeling position by the edge of the desk. Suddenly the story becomes about the two students working together instead of the entire classroom. As another example; imagine someone coming towards you walking a group of small dogs. If you're standing on the street taking a photo at eye level with the dog walker, you're telling the story of the dog walker with mostly the tops of the dogs' heads and not much connection between the person and the dogs (other than the leash). Now imagine lying prone on the sidewalk so the dogs are approaching with their faces above the lens of the camera with the walker looking down on you from behind them. You create a connection between with the dogs, the walker, and the viewer that tells a whole different story.
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| A Step Below |
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| A Step Below |
Shot 4. Satellite View. Find a way to get directly above your subject looking directly down upon it. This view from above will typically give the person looking at your photo a perspective that they've never seen before, and make them think "How did they get that shot?" This is best from balconies, stairwells, or even the roof of your school (with supervision and permission from your administration of course). And now made even more accessible with the use of drone cameras like we're using at Lors. Nothing tells a larger story of your school than a photo from above. Can't get that high up? Not a problem...just put your subject down low. Try arranging some friends on their backs on the floor, all in different directions but with their heads close together. Maybe one reading a book, one on a laptop, and one on a phone. Now stand up on a table or ladder (with someone holding you for balance and support) and photograph straight down at them with a wide angle lens. From only a small height, you can create the same effect as shooting down from the ceiling.
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| Satellite View |
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| Satellite View |
Shot 5. Worm's Eye View. The complete opposite of satellite view, this is where you get down and dirty. Lay on your back and shoot the activity directly above you. This can be groups of people huddled around looking down at the camera, a photo from the bottom of a stairwell looking up at you subject who's looking straight down from above, or even from the ground at a ropes course or other climbing apparatus. You can even try placing your camera on self timer and putting it inside something where someone is working directly above it.
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| Worm's Eye View |
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| Worm's Eye View |
The key to multiple angles is variety and options. Every angle tells a different story, and the question you have to ask yourself is...How will my story be told? So take your photos and layouts to new heights by taking your camera to new highs and new lows.
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