Photographers are always looking for ways to make their portfolio stand out. There are thousands of ways to make your photography portfolio Pop. One of my favorite techniques is to get low. If you ever come across a guy with a camera laying on the dirty street it could be me. Taking a low angle shot can really make a photo interesting and make your photography portfolio pop! This works well with any kind of photography including portraits, street photography, landscape photography and almost all the other photography niches.
This weekend I went camping and in between eating smores and relaxing I was able to snap a few shots. I decided to get low to ad some Pop to my shots.
The reason that I like this technique is because it draws your eye into the image. If you have something that looks close to the viewer their eye will go there first. Then it will follow the image deeper and deeper into the frame.
In the Old Cabin shot above I was laying the the grass with bugs crawling all over me. I wanted to have the grass right near my lens and the cabin to be about 3/4 of the way up the frame. I knew if I could draw people into the frame at least 3/4 of the way they would spend a little more time looking around.
In this shot I am still laying in the grass. Yes the bugs are still crawling all over me. But I liked the color of the grasses. Some of the grass had turned yellow and started to seed. The lower grasses were still bright green. I thought that the colors would really Pop. The shot is successful when it comes to colors but I may have gotten a bit too low. I do not really like how the tallest piece of grass is taller than that mountains. That seems to throw me off a bit. What do you think? Do you think I was too low or is the grass taller than the horizon just fine? Leave a comment below. 
In this last low shot I really wanted to capture the light coming through the wall through that door, but to give the image a little more depth I wanted to get the ceiling in the shot too. I think that with the ceiling in the shot if draws your eye through the door, I pause for a second on the floor, and then go up the wall to the ceiling.
Getting people to look around inside your image is a powerful tool. I want them to want to see more. I want to leave people feeling like they wish they could see around the corner or inside the cabin or behind that hill. Shooting at a low angle helps me achieve that effect. It is a natural way to draw people into the picture. You can use this technique to make your photography portfolio stand out. What do you think? Have you ever used low angles to make your images Pop! What other techniques do you use to make your portfolio stand out? Have you ever had bugs crawling all over you just to get the perfect shot?
|
 |
I love the cabin shot, you’ve captured it really well. I agree with you and feel that that random long bit of grass weakens the shot on the second one. Nice work,
Hi Dez, Thank you for the compliment. I am glad you agree about the piece of grass. I am not sure it would be a problem in every picture but in this one it is. Often things in the foreground can be taller than things in the background but it just looks a little funny there.
The getting low technique is extremely effective and so interesting to figure out the best way to shoot a subject. Thanks for the article as it confirms and gives me more desire to try this approach.
Brilliant hints and tips, I am just setting up my photography business and getting a portfolio together which looks good on my website has been harder than i first thought, I am overly critical and every photo I take I don’t think is good enough for the kind of market I am appealing to. I am going to take on board your comments, and see if I can come up with something that works.
I love the cabin photo, it nearly looks painted. Grass effect in this one is awesome. I also like the third photo, my eye is drawn to the light in the boards, then up and out to the door. Then inward again to see what all the junk was on the floor. The second photo with the long grass, I like the sky but the rest seems blah. Maybe too many focal points? Or not enough of one? The camera seems to be focused more on the sky and I’m not a photographer but trying to describe why the second photo doesn’t draw me in, but leaves me looking for something to like.
I actually love this technique. To me, some of the best shots, especially of people, is to get down low. I’ve laid on my side on a dirty driveway just to get a shot of someone before. I’ve crawled around past the discarded gum and the car oil but when you lean back and check the image you just snapped, seeing that powerful photo makes it all worth it. Sometimes you have to be willing to go where no one else is just to get the shot that no one else is getting. This goes for getting up high too.
The grass in the second shot is lovely but I agree that the taller piece is disruptive. It stutters the eye as you move across the horizon and I think it detracts some. I wouldn’t say go higher on the shot so much as crawl over there, bend that stalk down and then try this shot again.
I am not a photog pro, barely even a novice. But i enjoy seeking out and looking at intelligent photos such as this. I agree with the second shot, the cabin in a way is washed out against the grasses in the forefront. The first photo is incredible! I will have to play around with these ideas as I become more and more in tune to my amatuer photos I take periodically.
Thanks for sharing tips. I’ll apply the technique tomorrow when I take some photos.
Awesome ideas… I am going to take these to my instagram account!
Very nice photography. Great post and great reminder that using different perspectives makes the difference between ok images and stunning images.
great tip!
Go to low with portraits (people) and they look grandiose, though, right?