Our choice of shooting angles and focal lengths are two of the most important decisions we make with each of our photographic compositions.

We can find an incredible subject, then squander that image opportunity if we use a shooting angle that places the subject against a distracting background. At times our creative execution may fall short if we select a focal length that is not well suited to our desired depth-of-field. Or, fails to frame our subject to leverage its visual attributes. Choices of shooting angles and focal lengths can have a significant effect on eye flow.

This article shares some recent photographs from our self-drive photography tour of Newfoundland and illustrates how shooting angles and focal lengths can impact our photographic compositions. The purpose of this article isn’t to subjectively label images ‘good’ or ‘bad’,,, but simply illustrate how our choices of shooting angles and focal lengths effects the images we create.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

The image above captures a scene in a small harbour. The docked boat is blended into its surroundings. Eye flow is directed towards the boat by the use of a subtle reversed ‘Magic 7’ and some colour contrast across the bottom of the frame. The overall composition is quite busy in terms of the number of elements and how they interact. This image was composed from a standing position.

Here is the same boat, in the same harbour captured in a photograph less than one minute later. The image above has fewer visual elements and features a dominating element in the foreground. Overall the composition is more dramatic.

All I had to do was change my shooting angle by physically moving. This allowed me to include the abandoned mechanical item in the foreground. Rather than capture this photograph from a standing position I went down on one knee and held my camera closer to the ground, using the articulating rear screen on my camera to compose the image.  The change in shooting angle allowed me to eliminate the row of rocks that appears in the first photograph, and thus simplify the composition.

The next composition incorporates three moored boats. I used a shooting angle that allowed for more of a side view of the boats. The yellow barrier was used as a leading line. This tied in visually with the other yellow barriers in the image. This helped to group the three boats visually as well as enhance eye flow.

I moved to my right to change my shooting  angle. The same three boats appear in the photograph above, but the perspective is a front view, and in a portrait orientation. I used the stack of red lumber as a leading line and extended this with the other wood piled up next to the cement dock. The stack of red wood is augmented by other red details in centre frame. This helps to direct a viewer’s eye towards the boats.

When we’re out with our camera and working a scene it is important to remember to move laterally. The photograph above, and the next two that follow are all of the same rock formation on the same beach.

The changes in shooting angle create quite different compositions, as does the use of different focal lengths and focusing distances.

As you view the three images above you’ll see the same sloped hillside in the background of the photographs.

Regardless of whether we happen to be using a prime lens or a zoom, we still need to be actively changing our physical position to create variety in our photographs. This can alter our shooting angles significantly. To create the image above I walked down closer to the water’s edge and used equidistant composition technique to frame the dock and pole.

I later walked up on to the dock and used the yellow barriers as a leading line and with a completely different shooting angle.

The photograph above and below were both captured while standing on the Western Brook Pond tour boat as it was stopped at the end of the pond.

Changing focal lengths to a wider angle one, allowed me to incorporate the floating dock in the second composition. This also reduced the visual compression in the composition slightly, and added a bit more depth to the composition.

The photograph above was captured while standing on a small bluff overlooking a bay. I liked the rock formation and the appearance of the iceberg, but I wanted to have more compression in the composition to bring the iceberg in closer visually.

I hiked part way down a path on the side of the bluff and changed my focal length from 34 mm to 50 mm. This created a different shooting angle, as well as increasing the visual compression in the resulting image. The revised shooting angle also allowed for the incorporation of overlapping elements which creates a 3D effect in the image.

While driving to Twillingate I noticed this red boat moored along a small pier. I rolled down the window and captured this image from the front seat of my car. The composition lacked depth and eye flow so I parked the car and walked down closer to the harbour area.

By changing my shooting angle I was able to incorporate a corner anchor in the composition. Using a shorter focal length reduced the visual compression and gave more depth to the composition.

I often like to get in close to subjects, so I hiked along a small spit to create the image above. I shot from a crouched position so I could incorporate the bows of three boats in my composition.

After hiking back up to the road I composed an image of the small spit, using the edge of the spit as a corner exit.

Adjusting my focal length slightly, while maintaining the same shooting position, yielded a more simplified composition. The last three images above help demonstrate the potential impact of shooting angles and focal lengths.

Sometimes small shifts in our physical position can alter a composition quite a bit. As we can see in the image above the attempt at using some rocks on the left hand side of the composition as a leading line wasn’t very effective.

Moving slightly to my left, holding my camera down lower, and composing from my camera’s rear screen helped create a strong leading line. The revised composition has much better eye flow and balance.

Sometimes the physical constraints in a location can make it difficult to create a desired photograph. Unfortunately I was unable to get far enough away from the statue to use a long enough focal length which would have helped to blur the background in the photograph above. The result is visually jumbled.

By moving in closer to the subject and changing my shooting angle upward, I was able to eliminate the distracting background completely.

Our final sample images help illustrate the benefit of using a zoom lens with a wide focal length range. The image above was captured at 12 mm which delivers deep depth-of-field.

A focal length of 100 mm was used from a focusing distance of 940 mm (~37 inches) to create the image above. It is important to remember that regardless of the size of the sensor in our camera, using a longer focal length will deliver shallower depth-of-field.

If we want more variety in our photographs, we can accomplish that by simply adjusting our shooting angles and focal lengths… regardless of the camera gear we may be using.

 Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,338 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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