Stop shooting from standing height only to improve your photos

Getting low not only gave a different perspective, but let me tie the people in the foreground to the signage in the background to help give context to what is going on with them.

Most of us all take pictures from standing height. It's convenient more than any other reason.

So few people vary their shooting position relative to subjects, so that when you do your photos have stopping power. There are basically 2 approaches that I recommend trying every time you photograph a subject: 1) bird's eye view and 2) worm's eye view.

I put the camera on the floor for this photo.  This takes some practice to be able to shoot this low and compose.  I have worked on this and can see what I am getting without always looking through the viewfinder.

Get as low as you can and shoot up to the subject. This is called the worm's eye view for obvious reason.

At almost every Chick-fil-A grand opening, the first 100 customers arrive 24 hours and camp out to get Chick-fil-A for a year for free.

Get up above the subject to help give us the overall perspective. This is called the bird's eye view.

To get the birds eye view I rented this crane for me to go up above.  I like using helicopters for this, but the helicopter would have created such a down draft of wind on all those tents it just wasn't worth risking it.

When you get low and high also vary the lens you choose. Shoot a wide, standard and tight shot from each perspective of low and high.

If you do this regularly you will find that as you explore the subject you may discover the unique angle not only has stopping power, but also may give you a decisive moment and perspective that tells the whole story in one photo.

Remember if a subject made you stop and take a 2nd look with your camera it most likely stop other folks as well—if you work at it to find the most interesting perspective.

Photos used by permission of Chick-fil-A