Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
9. Where to put the horizon line
When shooting a landscape, your average person puts the horizon line right in the
center of the photo, right? Right. But if you don't want an average-looking photo, put
your horizon line either at the top third of your photo or the bottom third. How do you
know which one to use? If the sky is interesting with lots of clouds, put the horizon
line at the bottom, so you see more sky. If you've got a boring, cloudless sky, put the
horizon line at the top third, so you see more foreground instead. It's as simple as
that. Just remember; there's a reason they call it “dead” center.
10. Change your vantage point
One thing that makes photos look average is that we all pretty much take our photos
from the same view—standing. If we walk up on a flower, we shoot down at it from a
standing position. If we're shooting a photo of our children, we stand there and
shoot down on them. That's how we regularly see them, so the photos look regular.
A great trick to make your photos more interesting is to simply change your angle to
one that isn't so average. Get down on one knee to shoot your children at their eye
view. Shoot flowers down low—at their level, so you show a view most folks don't
see. Shoot down from a stairway on a street scene. This simple change of
perspective gives a fresh, more professional look to your images.
