4 : S AY C H E E S E !
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Perspective
When shooting with your 70D, it’s very easy to take all
of your images from a standing position. This of course
will vary in height from person to person, but so will
the people you are photographing. I usually carry a
small stepladder when I go on location so I can vary my
height with the people I’m photographing, especially
since I’m shorter than most other people. The basic rule
to follow is to try to stay at eye level with your subject,
which could mean flopping down on your belly to pho-
tograph a child or baby (Figure 4.12).
Another technique I like to use is to shoot my photos
three different ways—vertical, horizontal, and slanted.
I will often do one of each with the subject I’m pho-
tographing, and these are all very good ways to angle
your camera for portraits. Sometimes you don’t realize
what will make a pleasing image until you try it out,
so it’s good to experiment a little bit to see what works best. One fun angle to use is a
slanted angle, also referred to as the “Dutch angle” (Figure 4.13). I find that doing this
gives my images a sense of motion and uniqueness, since our eyes want to see things
straight up and down.
Figure 4.13
This image was
photographed from
a position some-
times referred to as
the “Dutch angle.”
ISO 100 • 1/60 sec. •
f/4 • 70–200mm lens
Figure 4.12
Photographing your subjects at eye level can
give your image a friendly and more approachable quality.
ISO 100 • 1/160 sec. • f/11 • 100mm lens