First, a disclaimer: my husband is not in trouble, and that is not why he sent me flowers! Thank heavens this little tradition has continued since we were married. I love receiving flowers at work, it definitely brightens up my day.
Me: “One of the easiest things I have learned in photography is to take a picture within a picture.”
You: “Huh? Why?”
Me: “I will show you.”
Guess I am not very good at this one sided conversation! Anyhow, I would like to show you one of the easiest techniques I have learned to taking creative pictures. The technique is taking a picture within the picture.
We have all seen the same pictures, and probably taken them. To the left is a photo of some flowers that my husband sent me one day at work. I took the photo straight on, a little higher than the flowers were sitting. I am guessing that you have probably seen hundreds of photos exactly like this one. While that flower arrangement is very bright and well put together, this picture definitely contains some dullness.
So often, I have seen photos and wished that I had the creative eye to get “that shot”. One way to do this is to work your way into the picture. I usually will start by taking a larger picture such as this one. I might sit back and study the photo or the setting and see what other pictures there are. As I do this I have my camera on a tripod. I might be looking through the lens, or at the object itself. I adjust the tripod up and down to gain a different height that brings an entire new look to the object. Definitely get dirty! Get on your knees. Get on a stool. Get far away. Get close. Below are some pictures of the same flower arrangement- from a different perspective.
The next two pictures are of the same flower, but they are very different pictures. The first picture I was actually looking at taking a picture of the yellow rose that you can see in the bottom right hand corner. Looking through the lens I saw this picture. So many of us look at the flower straight on. Rarely do you examine it and appreciate the symmetry of the petals. The next picture (see below) is probably a bit more typical. It is an overhead shot of the flower that I cropped using the rule of thirds (more on that soon!).
Confession! I have a pink complex. I love pink. I love being a girl. My husband knows that anything pink is a solid sell for me! Okay, on with the next picture.
This next picture was discovered through the lens. I have found myself taking pictures of objects head on. Boring! Getting on a different level really changes the aspect. This next picture is similar to the first pink flower, it is taken on the side. However, with this one picture I wanted to show the contrast of the white next to the dark purple of the arrangement.
My husband laughed because this is the first arrangement that I did not come home and tear apart as I was taking pictures. I simply acted as an observer and not a creator. Again, I think that is my general philosophy with most photography is to be an observer and capture the natural life because mother nature is a lot more creative than I am!
