Link: Headshots don't have to be boring

SLIDESHOW
Photo focus: Creative headshots
from reuters.com

Usher poses for a protrait in NY.

(REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

Mention the topic of "head shots" to a lot of news photographers, and you just might get a groan as a response. Little postage stamp-sized pics that are used to simply identify the subject of a story or a quote don't typically get the creative juices flowing. Plus, they are overused and over-assigned, as I professed in a previous post.

Unfortunately, some assignments lend themselves to little more. Depending on the notoriety of the subjects, the only access you might get is when they are speaking at a podium or some other kind of heavily controlled environment.

However, I ran across a slideshow on the Reuters news service site that just goes to show how really good photographers can still see things in unique ways.

'Tis the season: multimedia slideshow

It's become a marker of fall for me. Georgia Southern football and multimedia.

On Saturdays, I lurk amongst the tailgaters with my funny looking Zoom H4 audio recorder (looks a little like a stun gun).

On Monday, I start perusing through over 1000 images shot at the game and listening to the audio I recorded. Then I start to play around with music loops in Apple GarageBand until I have some music appropriate to set the stage.

Mix it all together with Joe Weiss' amazing little Soundslides program, and voila!

Hopefuly, something a little better than a clicky-click slideshow. Perhaps something that captures a little more of the energy at Paulson Stadium?

Soundslides is pretty amazing. It produces an Adobe Flash-based slideshow which looks way better than a typical on-line video. Check out the full-screen mode by clicking in the bottom-right hand corner.

Tell me what you think.

The best light available – in a flash

Low light? No problem - usually. Available light can be beautiful.

We photogs are always thinking about light. I posted, a while back, about the interplay between light and shadow, and how it can make or break a photograph. Some photographers simply have a gift for seeing light and using it to create a special quality to their photographs. Sebastiao Salgado is one of those that comes to mind. He always shoots in black and white, but the light is one of the first qualities that jumps out at you. And it's always available, existing light, sometimes in conditions where some of us would just give up and not even bother to shoot. It's truly a gift to be able to see like that.

I'm a big proponent of available light photography and it's usually how I approach most assignments. By using available light, I can operate less obtrusively. It allows me to become more of a fly on the wall instead of being the center of attention. It's also a challenge, both technically and creatively, to figure out how to use available light to your story-telling advantage. Fortunately, today's latest professional level digital cameras are much more sensitive to light and create higher quality results than even the most sensitive film. (Sorry point-and-shoot owners. These low-light advantages don't yet extend to inexpensive consumer cameras due to 1) cost, and 2) the laws of physics. If you're interested in the technical reasons, try this link: What Is... ISO)

But the amount of light isn't the only consideration. First, there's the quality of the light. Is it hard, creating contrast and deep shadow areas? Or is it soft, with little or no shadows or contrast? You have to consider the direction your subject is being illuminated from: are any shadows working for you or against you? Sometimes the color of the light is a consideration, especially when you have mixed light sources, such as direct sunlight, shade, incandescent light bulbs, or florescent lights. They all have a different hue, and that can cause problems when they are mixed together.

Flash allowed me to make a better portrait by
    filling in ugly mid-day shadows and cleaning
    up a busy background.

So what do I do when the quantity and quality of light are working against me? I gotta break out the flash. I have mixed feelings about flash photography. As I mentioned before, I prefer to work unobtrusively and fade into the background. I feel the pictures that result from this approach and the moments they depict are more honest. Sometimes, I worry about altering the existing scene by introducing artificial light. However, in the interest of professionalism, particular assignments or subjects (often portraits) simply call for some lighting help.

I have a great admiration for photographers who are masters of lighting their subjects. Like I said, light can make or break a photograph, and some photographers are extremely creative in the way they use flash. One of my favorites is Joe McNally, because his background is in photojournalism and the way he works and lights his subjects is closer to what I do than many of the fashion and portrait photographers famous for the look of their images.

W. Eugene Smith (whose quote is the inspiration for the name of this blog) was known for his dramatic use of available light in his photographs. But everything isn't always as it seems. Once, when asked by a student if available light was the best kind of light, Smith responded

"Available light is any damn light that is available! "

 Indeed, Smith often had to augment the existing light by stringing up flood lights due to the lack of film sensitivity in his day. However, once the lights were up, his subjects went about their lives as though they (the lights and Smith) weren't even there.

Unless I'm making a portrait that requires some measure of direction, I try to take the same approach as Smith when introducing flash to a scene.

Unlike commercial photographers who often use powerful studio strobes to drown out existing light, photojournalists usually try to keep their equipment to a minimum and are more interested in balancing flash with the existing light. There are two basic approaches to accomplishing this.

Using flash as fill

Mid-day sun needs help.

You may be familiar with the term fill flash. Essentially, it's using flash to reduce the amount of contrast between the highlights and shadows in a scene. With today's digital cameras, it's a fairly easy operation. Expose for your scene highlights, and the camera will automatically determine how much flash is needed to fill in the shadows. This is especially useful outdoors at mid-day or indoors when the main source of light is overhead. Light from above is notorious for creating deep shadows in the eye sockets and under the nose. You can overdo fill flash. Too much, and your scene looks unnatural. But a subtle use of fill flash can open up those faces in the shadows. 

Fill-flash saves the day.

Even basic consumer point-and-shoot cameras are capable of pretty decent fill flash results, and I would recommend using fill flash outdoors during the middle of the day. Just find out how to take your flash out of the automatic mode, turn it on, and let your camera do the work. You might be surprised at how a little fill flash can really make your photos pop!

Using available light as fill

Sometimes, your light levels are just too low and you need some help to make publishable images. In these cases, the flash becomes your main light. However, you still have to balance it with the existing light unless you want your subjects floating in space. In essence, your existing light become the fill. When using this approach, the best results are achieved if you can get your flash off the camera. On-camera flash produces flat light. You lose any sense of shape and three-dimensionality. Most camera manufacturers make sync cords that maintain full exposure functionality so you can hold the flash off to the side or place it on a light stand. Those cords can be unwieldy, however. My trusty Nikon Speedlight offers an additional option - wireless flash. Thanks to the folks at Nikon and their Creative Lighting System (CLS), I can place my flash almost anywhere and still maintain full control right from the camera. It's a great option to add natural looking light from nearly any direction.

One flash with diffuser dome, camera left, on a stand about 10 feet high, fired wirelessly, creates a soft-but directional light. With the existing light used as a fill, it creates a nice, natural three-dimensional look.

Unbalanced flash = lost in space

Off-camera flash isn't an option for most point-and-shoot cameras. And at low light levels, the built-in flash often overwhelms any ambient light. You've probably seen the results: faces floating in space. Many consumer cameras have a flash mode often referred to as "slow." If your camera has this mode, it will utilize slower shutter speeds to better balance the flash with the available light. You might get a little image blur in the background at times, but try it and see if you like the results.

One more tip - soften it up

Most natural sources of light bounce all over the place, reflecting off of many surfaces, producing a softening or diffusing effect. A bare electronic flash tube creates extremely hard light from a small source. That combination is undesirable because it typically produces a harsh, unnatural quality of light with ugly shadows. There are many tricks to make the light from your electronic flash appear more natural. 

If your flash head can tilt and swivel, you can point it towards the ceiling or a wall. This is referred to as bounce flash. (Gotta give Canon and their tutorials a little love, too) The resulting light will bounce off the surface, producing a much softer, broader light for a more natural look. However, light bounced off the ceiling will still produce the same undesirable shadows as any light source from above, only softer and less contrasty. To combat that, you can attach a "bounce card" to your flash to redirect some of the light forward to fill in the shadows. There are many commercially produced bounce devices, but anything with a white surface will work – even a piece of paper.

Another approach is to diffuse the light by putting something white and translucent in front of the flash to soften and spread out the light. (Don't cover your lens, though!) Again, there are many commercial products that can accomplish this, but you can use anything that's handy, in a pinch. My flash shipped with a white, plastic translucent dome that fits right over the flash head. It diffuses light forward and to the sides. If I tilt the flash head upwards, the light goes in all directions, giving me the benefits of both diffusion and bounce flash. It's about as natural and soft as as you can get from a small light source. In fact, it almost never comes off my flash.

Putting it all together: flash with a dome diffuser bounced off the ceiling and balanced with existing light allowed me to capture a story-telling moment in dim lighting conditions.

Diffusion and bounce flash are problematic for point-and-shoot cameras. Most of their built-in flashes are fixed and very close to the lens. About the only advice I have for you is to try this: Do-It-Yourself - Ten-Second Flash Diffusion. Let me know if it works!

In the end ...

Electronic flash is just another tool in the arsenal. The main objective is still to tell stories, share moments, and make connections.  Personally, I'll take the golden glow of evening light that Mother Nature graces us with over anything artificial. (The light at dawn is amazing, too, but anyone who knows me understands that it's going to take a significant assignment for this night owl to roll out of bed in those wee hours.)

Anyway, I'm done with this lighting tutorial. There are numerous resources by those more knowledgeable and talented than I. For more reading on flash photography, try these blogs:

Joe McNally's Blog

Strobist by David Hobby

Tip: Don't be afraid of the dark ...

Shining some light on the subject of shadows.

First year Giants T-ball coach Todd Hall, 
top right, gives some batting pointers to 
Lijah Williams, 6. The low evening sun-
light from behind not only reveals the 
texture and details of the infield, it 
creates shadows which become the main 
subject of the photograph.

Photographers talk an awful lot about light. After all, without light, there is no photography. How light interacts with the subjects and scenes we photograph can greatly influence how viewers feel about a photograph.

However, if you really want to create interest and drama in your photographs, the absence of light is just as important.

Shadows in the wrong place can ruin a good picture. Mid-day sunlight and florescent light from the ceiling can create ugly shadows in people's eye sockets or under their noses or chins.

Don't be afraid of shadows, though. If you really examine the light in your scene, shadows can make your photographs really come alive.

It's the interplay between light and shadow that reveals shape, form and texture. That interplay creates contrast and drama. Shadows themselves can even become the main subject of your photograph.

Rachel Z unleashes her stylistically diverse music on 
the audience at the Savannah Jazz Festival in 2004. The
spotlight from behind creates drama and reveals form 
by highlighting the edges of the subject.

President George W. Bush returns to Air Force One 
after stumping for Republican candidates in Savannah 
in 2003. Seemed appropriate to photograph a cowboy 
riding (flying?) off into the sunset.

If you want to take advantage of shadows, it's important to notice what direction your source of light is coming from. Light from the side, such as early morning/late afternoon sunlight or window light, is great for revealing texture and shape. Side light creates an almost three-dimensional effect and can cast long, dramatic shadows across your photograph.

Using light from behind a subject is most obvious in silhouettes. Silhouettes with pretty sunrises or sunsets are popular, but also a bit cliche. Properly exposing backlit subjects to reveal some detail in your subject without blowing out the background is tricky and requires some practice. But light from behind can accentuate the form of your subject by highlighting the edges.

If you really want to take your photography to the next level, start exploring light and shadow. Don't be stationary. Walk around your subjects and notice how the interplay of light and shadow changes. Pay attention to how the quality of light changes with the time of day.

And don't be afraid of the dark.

The Mug Shot: Assignments that make photographers want to scream, Part 2

The head shot, or mug shot, as it's referred to by cynical newsroom denizens,  is the most rudimentary kind of photograph published in news periodicals.

Just to be clear to those not schooled in newsroom lingo, "mug shot" refers to any generic head shot, not just police mugs created when someone is arrested. It may also refer to simple photographs of buildings or objects, not just people.

They are ubiquitous and even sometimes necessary - a necessary evil to those who would rather spend their time telling stories with their pictures instead of making mindless snapshots of newsmakers' faces.

Truthfully, although the quality of headshots submitted for publication varies wildly, they are simple for a trained photographer to create. Easy as pie, really.

So why the protest? It has nothing to do with degree of difficulty. Sometimes, the use of mug shots is perfectly appropriate. A simple head shot is frequently all that is necessary to identify someone who makes an interesting quote, but does nothing of particular visual interest. It is customary to publish a head shot of a columnist, as well.

It has more to do with allocation of time, resources, and use of editorial space.

It has been my experience (and that of many other photojournalists I have talked to) that the mug shot is far too frequently the default choice as a visual story element assigned by some editors and writers. A chronic problem? Not really, but just enough to annoy the living daylights out of photographers who are more interested in documenting real people living active lives.

In a past job, I once worked for an editor who was obsessed with mug shots. The newsroom management was pushing for more visuals, and this editor insisted on mug shots of people quoted in stories or mentioned in the story lede (that's newsroom lingo for the first paragraph of a story) whenever possible. The editor wanted mug shots of every public official in 3 or 4 counties, including the municipalities within those counties. "Readers want to know what people look like," was the rationale. I never made it to every council and commission meeting, but spent a lot of time shooting head shots of officials sitting behind microphones. It was sheer tedium.

The biggest problem I had with that wasn't the ennui. It's that I wasn't really doing  journalism. Shooting mug shots is a form of documentation and reporting, in a sense. What someone looks like can certainly be considered a "fact." Documentation and reporting can be drudgery - just ask a good investigative writer. But journalism is about documenting facts, sorting through them, and helping people understand how those facts might be important or enlightening. I'm just not convinced that a tiny picture that only shows what someone looks like accomplishes much worthwhile. Color me skeptical.

"Large photos and documentary photos drew more eyes than small photos or staged photos."

-- The Poynter Institute, Eyetracking The News

There's been numerous studies about the reading habits of newspaper readers. One of the most well known facts is that a photograph can significantly increase the readership of an accompanying story. Lesser known, however,  were findings which showed that mug shots do NOT significantly increase readership. And I challenged my editor's notions about mugshots in a meeting about visuals. In front of the executive editor, no less. My challenge was met with skepticism, and I wasn't prepared. I couldn't produce a copy of the report. And, at the time, internet search engines weren't quite so robust, and I couldn't locate the study on the web. Foiled.

So now, a bit belatedly, here it is!

The latest eyetrack studies, focusing on readers' on-line habits this time, confirmed the same findings conducted on printed products years ago: mug shots don't substantially increase readership. A postage stamp-sized mug shot on a test page was viewed by only 10% of participants.

To be fair, this study mostly considers the size of photographs on web pages and concluded that bigger photos hold the eye longer than smaller photos - well, duh! The study also determines that faces drew the eye, which, on the surface, might give some credence to the notion that readers want to know what people look like. It's not rocket science, though - viewers' eyes will be drawn to faces in a picture - regardless of the type of picture. That's human nature.

Mug shots are typically published very small. And this study strongly suggests that small photos don't get much attention, even if they show what someone looks like. And it suggests they aren't likely increase readership of the accompanying story.

Based on this study, however, the only case you can make for using mug shots with every story is if you use them big - and that might produce a fistfight with me.

Another study, a little older but more thorough, strongly suggested that large photos and documentary photos drew more eyes than small photos or staged photos. Mug shots received relatively little attention. More vindication?

Ultimately, this topic is not such a big deal. Fact is, with photo staffs shrinking at newspapers everywhere, editors are much more likely to stick a point-and-shoot camera in a reporter's hand and ask him or her to produce a mug shot for a story. So most staff photojournalists are largely relieved from this duty, albeit for dubious reasons.

Hmmmm. This post might be the result of an ornery mood. Maybe the result of writers block with a blog newbie. Perhaps an exercise in catharsis, in response to long ago unsuccessful attempts to enlighten the visually challenged. These things bubble up on occasion. I hope, oh readers, that you may be entertained, if not enlightened.

One thing for certain, THIS photographer needs a better mug shot of himself -- for the paper, that is, not for police files.

Any volunteers?

Shooting sports: don't stop when the whistle blows

People love sports photographs. There's something magical about freezing a key moment during a game or match, at the peak of action. Still photographs are a different way to experience sports. It's a completely different encounter from reading a sports story, or even watching television replays of unforgettable moments. Athletes are captured, forever, in the midst of sometimes incredible feats. Photographs allow us to examine every detail, every bead of sweat, rippling muscles, the grace, the power, sometimes even the humor.

Sports photography is frustrating for many. To get us close to the action, you need expensive telephoto lenses. You need expensive cameras capable of making a rapid burst of frames, not to mention the capability to freeze action in sometimes poor lighting conditions. Sometimes it takes years to learn the skills and gain knowledge of a particular sport so you can anticipate what the important actions are.

So what can you do if you don't own pro gear or you're just starting out? Here's something that all the best sports photographers know -- don't stop shooting when a play is over and there is a break in the action.

While some pictures of peak action are amazing and show us key moments in a competition, many (most?) are routine and cliche. Many actions in sports are repetitive, such as throwing a football, shooting a basketball, making a golf swing ... they don't necessarily tell us much about the significance of the action. Each individual sporting event has its own story to tell, and frequently those story-telling moments happen after the play ends. Re-action is what you should be looking for. A football player celebrating a sack speaks more to the magnitude of the play than the sack itself. Players get tackled hundreds of times during a game. A shot of a player shooting a basketball doesn't tell us if he made it -- could have been an airball. But a shot of the player reacting and the bench exploding tells you right away without having to read anything.

 Look to the sidelines and in the stands, as well. The reaction of a coach or the looks on fans' faces can sometimes tell you more about the game story than an action shot.

 There's a term coined by pro sports photographers. It's called "chimping," and it describes the act of habitually checking your pictures on your digital camera's LCD screen immediately after making a series of exposures. At first, it was a derogatory term, used to demean photographers who are either insecure in their ability to create correct exposures, or infatuated with their ability to immediately see the results of their effort.

On one hand, chimping is perfectly acceptable. It takes advantage of the ability digital cameras have to give us immediate feedback. It's a great thing to shoot test frames and check for proper exposure and color balance. In the film days, you might have your settings incorrect, and you wouldn't know until the film was developed -- too late, in other words. And I use the capability to mark my best images as I go, so I can edit faster once the event is over.

However, if you're constantly reviewing your images after every play, you're probably missing some of the best shots.

So if you don't have 20 grand or so to outfit yourself like the pros, don't be a "chimp," and don't stop shooting when the whistle blows.

No posers, please ...

"Okay, everybody hold still!" You're supposed to pose for the camera, right?

I have to deal with disappointment all the time when potential subjects see me lift my camera to my eye, then start hamming it up and saying "Put my picture in the paper!" Or, sometimes worse, ask me "What do you want me to do?"

Well, my typical response to the first scenario is to simply drop the camera from my eye and walk away. My response to the second query is often to tell them "Be yourself and pretend like I'm not even here."

Why the cold shoulder to people excited about the possibility of being published in their local newspaper? Well, it's nothing personal. It has to do with how I see my role as a photojournalist. My job is not to create family-style photo albums or Facebook-like galleries. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. Those kinds of photographs create wonderful memories. I shoot plenty of snapshots of family and friends (although not enough if you ask them!)

However, my goal as a photojournalist is to always, whenever possible, capture and present honest, accurate moments that give our citizens a little deeper understanding and appreciation of their community -- not moments created for the benefit of my camera.

It's frequently a tall order, and in the purest sense, unattainable. Most of the time, my subjects are completely aware of my presence. But I strive to keep my influence on my subjects' behavior to an absolute minimum, and I never direct them how to act unless I am openly trying to create an obvious portrait - obvious to both the subject and the photographs' viewers.

Staged photographs are a serious no-no. I never ask subjects to re-create a moment I may have missed, even though they sometimes offer to. Representing a staged moment as a real one would be dishonest and deceiving to our readers. If I miss something - and it happens - I try to capture another moment that helps in understanding the story. If that fails, then, like I said, I will create an obvious portrait that also, hopefully, helps readers to understand the story.

So how do I go about capturing honest moments from subjects who are aware - sometimes painfully - of my presence? Persistence and patience, mostly. Long telephoto lenses can help, since they allow you to stay back and work more inconspicuously. But sometimes wide angle lenses give you a more interesting perspective, allow for greater depth-of-field, and give you a more intimate feeling as a viewer. In that case, you have to take the time to make your subjects comfortable with your presence and gain their trust.

One of the best examples I can think of comes from covering the last day of the school year back in May. Mill Creek Elementary School was the venue. Part of the story was to capture the principal's last day before moving on to head up Southeast Bulloch High School. I followed him around for a bit, but broke away to explore other school activities. I happened upon a classroom full of rambunctious fifth-grade girls. They were celebrating their last day in elementary school before moving on to middle school. I felt like this was a good angle to explore, so I stayed in the classroom for a good while.

As children are prone to do, many of them made their requests to be in the newspaper and made silly poses. That was fine, but I informed them that I couldn't publish those pictures. After explaining why, the girls started to go back to the business of celebrating. One of their activities included karaoke, and their performances, at first, were clearly for my camera. But again, I stayed with the subjects and began photographing the girls watching the performances because their reactions were story-telling.

After some time passed, the girls began to be more natural, eventually ignoring my presence and the click of my shutter. After hundreds of frames, the sound became background noise. As the end of the school day approached, the girls started to become emotional, realizing that some of their classmates would be going to different schools. Tears and hugs started pouring forth, and it was like I wasn't there, even though I continued to make photographs. The story had taken a different turn, one of a much more intimate nature, but a completely honest one. Human experience encompasses so much more than smiling faces and cute poses.

By staying with a subject and spending the time to develop just a little trust, I was able to go beyond the obvious. It wasn't a completely unique moment - it's one most of us have experienced at one time or another. But it was a touching alternative to the many cliche pictures I have taken on the last day of school over the years.

So, when you see me coming with my gear, don't start posing. Save those for your Facebook pages. Don't ask me "What do you want me to do?" Be yourself. Let me share something about who you really are. It's those kinds of moments that will have real value to our community.

The Grip and Grin: Assignments that make photographers want to scream, part 1

There are certain assignments that make most photojournalists groan when they come across the picture desk. It's not that we're above photographing certain subjects. Rather, it's that we care and want to use the medium to it's best advantage. Space is tight in most publications these days, so publishing photographs that are purely informational really isn't the best way to use that precious space. And sometimes the information recorded really isn't very interesting or relevant.

Not every assignment is going to produce award-winning photographs, and sometimes we photograph certain events to foster relationships with important organizations in the community. But settling for lackluster or cliche photographs is usually the result of a lack of time before publication, a lack of planning, or editors that just don't understand how photographs communicate.

One of the most egregious offending assignments is what we call the "Grip and Grin." I'm sure we've all seen them: check presentations, plaque passings, award ceremonies, ground breakings, people shaking hands and smiling for the camera, etc. Why so offensive? Outside of the people in the photographs, their families and friends, they have very little value to 99.9% of our readers. You have to read the text if you want to find out why people are smiling as they shake hands, exchange objects, or pretend to shovel dirt with spray-painted shovels. And a good photograph should communicate something without having to read the text.

We publish many of these kinds of photographs at the Statesboro Herald. Why? Well, most of them are submitted by people in the community because organizations want people to be aware of their contributions, and our small news staff simply can't cover every event.  And the contributions are newsworthy. I would encourage our contributors to explore ways to shoot different kinds of pictures as an alternative to the standard Grip and Grin. For example, if someone is receiving an award for their charitable works, photograph them doing their charitable activities.  Instead of lining them up and posing them, perhaps make candid photographs or a portrait of the recipient that reveals something of his or her personality -- don't stand them up against a wall and photograph him or her with their plaque. If some organization is making a donation, show us how the money or goods are being distributed. If a new building is being built, show us pictures of the people who will benefit or send us a picture of an artist's rendering of the proposed building.

At a small newspaper like the Herald, sometimes photographing Grip and Grin ceremonies is unavoidable. The identity of an award winner might be secret until it is announced, and there may be too many nominees to photograph ahead of time, for example. So what do I do? If I only have time to photograph the ceremony itself, I try to stick to candid pictures that reveal something about the recipient's personality - those little moments that help us connect. I was able to accomplish this when Ogeechee Technical College presented their Instructor of the Year. When the college's President teased the recipient, I captured a moment that revealed much more than if I had shot her simply holding her plaque.


If I have more time, I talk to the recipient after the ceremony and see if I can photograph them in their environment. I did this recently with the Farm Family of the Year. They were gracious and let me spend some time with them at their farm after the luncheon. The result was a family portrait that communicated what they did for a living for the next day's paper, and I was also able to create a multimedia slide show for our web site.

Grip and Grin ceremonies can be newsworthy because they help us learn about our communities. But the resulting photographs usually aren't particularly interesting or instructive. However, there are always issues and events behind and leading up to the ceremonies, and those can produce newsworthy pictures. So, citizens, share the stories behind the Grip and Grins. That's what I want to photograph!

What's my angle?

"Angle" is a term commonly seen and heard in journalism. Generally, when we think of stories and words, angle is the focus of, or approach to, a story: So-and-so wrote her story from a human-interest angle.

In photography, angle is a more literal term, usually describing the physical perspective from the photographer's point-of-view. Angles are extremely important. Perspective can change the way we feel about a subject. A picture from below can make a subject seem more powerful. A picture from above can make a subject seem more vulnerable. When we view a subject eye-to-eye, we see the subject as a peer and can make emotional connections.

Sometimes people chuckle when they see me lying prone with my face pressed against the floor or ground, or climbing a tree or ladder with my cameras dangling precariously. Fact is, most of us view the world around us from a standing or seated position. The world looks different from ground level or from high above. When photographers explore different angles, it allows viewers to see things in new and interesting ways.

Trying different angles is a great way to clean up busy backgrounds that can distract from your subject, too. Sometimes moving a few inches to the left or right, bending those knees, or stepping up on a chair can make the difference between a busy, confusing photograph and one that really communicates your intent.

So all you budding photographers, don't wear your good clothes when you're shooting -- it's all about the angles!