Microsoft 702 manual Find a Unique Perspective

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Chapter 2: Making the Most of Your Camera

If you have a person or animal in your photo, you can place the subject’s face on one of the four points, looking toward the center of the scene. If the horizon is in a photo, it should run about one-third from the top or one-third from the bottom, depending on whether the terrain or the sky is the center of focus.

The rule of thirds is not an absolute law, and there have been many great photographs taken that don’t abide by it. But the rule can be a great way to add balance and interest to your photos.

6. Find a Unique Perspective

Challenge yourself to take original photos that convey unique perspectives. Rather than just pressing your shutter button as soon as you have the urge to capture a scene, take some time to assess your shooting angle, proximity to your subject, and background elements. You may transform your composition by taking one or more of the following simple steps:

■Get closer to your subject, to show more detail and eliminate distractions in the background.

■Include just a portion of your subject in the frame.

■Take your original subject and place it in the background. Find a new subject that adds context to the object in the background.

■Get lower to the ground, and point the camera up toward your subject.

■Move to a higher location, above your subject, so you are pointing down when you take the photo.

For example, if you are traveling, your natural instinct might be to take straightforward photos of local monuments. But with this approach, you might wind up with the same lackluster photos taken by scores of other tourists before you. And there would be a good chance that a nearby souvenir shop would sell superior, professionally photographed prints and slides of the same monuments. For that matter, you could have just stayed home and ordered the professional photos from a catalog.

Microsoft Picture It! Companion Guide