A New Angle on Family Photography

Most family portraits all look the same.  The photographer has you line up shortest to tallest, or vice-versa, tallest in the middle, or sit with mom in the middle, dad behind her and all the kids surrounding them.  The images are shot from directly in front of the subjects while they all say, “cheese”.  Then when it comes time to choose that perfect photo for the family holiday card, you wonder why the pictures all look the same. Here are some easy tips to help you take better family photos by simply changing your angles.  These creative but small changes will add a whole new dimension to your photography. Ground Level Place the family at ground level as you stoop, kneel or even lay on your belly to shoot the images while remaining down on their level during the shoot.  You can also have them lie on the ground looking through the grass or flowers at the camera while you are on their level.  This angle works especially well with children.   Worm’s Eye View For a totally new point of view for your shots, position your camera from Beachcamera.com lower than the subjects and shoot looking up.  This will produce a random and creative perspective by causing the subjects to look stronger and larger than life.  This angle works well with the entire family huddling together looking down toward the camera, or a single child looking playfully down towards the ground.   Bird’s Eye View On the opposite end of that spectrum is to get your camera up higher than the subjects and shoot down on them.  You don’t need to get dangerously high, just high enough to get above the subjects’ eye level or heads so they need to look up at the camera.  A ladder or a table will do the job, but if you want to take an extreme approach to your overhead shots, you can use an aerial drone from Beachcamera.com   Human Angle When you’re looking for innovative ways to take family photos, it’s not just about changing the angle in which you hold the camera, you can actually change the angle of the family members to give some original effects to the images.  Try turning each person at an angle away from the camera, or angle each person in directions opposite of each other for a different result.  

Reflections Changing the angle from which you shoot isn’t the only way to create original family photos.  Using puddles, lakes and new buildings made of glass to reflect people can be a great tool for gaining a new perspective as well.

Forget boring head shots, or grouping everyone in the family in a formal straight line. Don’t be afraid to experiment by getting down and dirty for a ground view, or up on a ladder for bird’s eye view for some creative and interesting family photographs.