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Photography Lesson #2 | Get Down Low

For those of you that are new: I’m doing an intermittent series of posts about improving your photography without purchasing any new equipment (that’s how it ties in with the frugal theme here at this blog!). You might also want to read the introduction to this series and the first post in the series.

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Today’s topic will probably mostly be useful to you if you take pictures of people, especially children. Like my previous tip, this one doesn’t require any special equipment and can be implemented with the camera you already own.

One of the easiest ways to improve your photos of children is to get down to their level.

So often we grownups just take pictures from our height, which is way above that of most children.

Sometimes a shot from above a child can work nicely.

A little girl in a wading pool.

But most times, it makes for sort of a boring picture.

A little girl squatting next to a wading pool.

This is much better. Same subject, but a different perspective.

A little blonde girl on a slip and slide.

Here’s Zoe from above:

A ltitle girl stepping into a wading pool.

And from her level:

A little girl in a blue swimsuit with flippers on her feet.

This works nicely when you do closeups too.

A black and white photo of a little girl with a bob haircut.

I find this trick to be particularly helpful when I’m taking pictures of small babies. It’s hard to get down to a baby’s height, but if you do, your pictures will be much more interesting.

A pair of baby feet in black and white.

 

I was pretty much flat on the floor to take this picture and though it wasn’t the most comfortable way to take a picture, I like the unusual perspective in it.

A baby lying on a floor next to a stuffed Snoopy dog.

Next time you have the opportunity to take pictures of children, give this a try.

You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in your photos and it won’t cost you a thing except for maybe some wear and tear on your knees. 😉

A little girl with a helmet on, riding a tricycle down a tree-lined stree.

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Thursday 14th of January 2010

[...] Getting Down [...]

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Thursday 24th of September 2009

[...] remember the post where I encouraged you to get down to a child’s level when you’re taking pictures? I got lazy while taking this following shot, and you can see [...]

fruitburger

Monday 27th of July 2009

You can already see how much bigger the neighborhood looks from a child's perspective in the last pic. And the baby with Snoopy...I have to say that's the most adorable thing ever. Great tips. I'd bet they'd work when taking shots of pets too.

marina

Saturday 25th of July 2009

What awesome pictures...I love them all!

PS Come visit my blog and enter the 2 giveaways...while at my blog please could you help me build up comments for the blog giveaway I'm trying to win? Thank you

http://energizerbunnysmommyreports.blogspot.com/2009/07/top-10-reasons-i-am-excited-to-stay.html....

Kelly

Wednesday 22nd of July 2009

Thanks for the great tips. It's true--good equipment helps, but it's the photographer's eye, composition skills and ability to deal with light that makes the difference. Great job!

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