Robert Durell, a friend of mine who was a photographer for the Los Angeles Times for 10 years, once gave my students this excellent piece of advice: Never shoot at eye level. Change your perspective: Get down low, or get up high.
When you shoot everything at your eye level, you're showing the viewers exactly what they're used to seeing, which means your photo can easily become wallpaper. But show them something they don't normally see, and your photo will grab their attention.
Here's an example in which I shot my cat, Harlequin, at my eye level:
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| © Holly A. Heyser |
If you have cats, you recognize this human-eye view. Nothing to see here - just another pretty cat ignoring her human.
But check out this angle:
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| © Holly A. Heyser |
This is an unusual perspective, unless you're the kind of person who thinks it's fun to loll around on the floor with your cats. Hell, I'm that kind of person, and I still love this photo. Harlequin cracks me up.
Now, think about it: The first photo is what pretty much any amateur would shoot - it would've looked at home on any number of Facebook pages. But the second one is different. It catches your eye.
Sometimes you can get away with an eye-level shot. Sometimes it's your only option.
But whenever possible - especially when you're shooting pets, children or people who are sitting down - change your angle and get the better shot.
© Holly A. Heyser
