Most of the time we look at the world from eye level. That is a natural thing to do, since that’s where our eyes are! But as photographers in general, and certainly as nature photographers, it can be really helpful to look at the world differently. One of the best ways to do that is by changing your perspective. So what do we mean by perspective? Perspective in photography is defined as the spatial relationship between objects in an image. Perspective gives us a feeling of depth when looking at a flat photo. By changing our perspective, it’s easy to change what viewers see in our work and how they see it.

There are several ways that we can change our perspective when taking photos. Probably the easiest way to change your perspective is to shoot up or to shoot down. Instead of shooting from normal eye level stand on top of something tall and shoot your subjects from the top down. Or consider lying down on the ground and shooting up. There are even some things, like trees or tall buildings that you can stand and shoot in an upwards way. This type of perspective also lends itself very nicely to the use of leading lines.

A second easy way to change your perspective is to change your lens. For example, a telephoto lens will allow you to get up close to something that you might normally never be able to get close to. Birds and wildlife in general are often photographed using a telephoto lens. A wide angle lens will increase the depth of your photo by making objects in the foreground look larger than those in the background. That provides an entirely different perspective from the telephoto lens that makes distant things larger. My personal favorite is the macro lens, which lets me shoot very close up and very small subjects (that’s the bug girl in me). With the macro lens I can see and photograph things that are very difficult to see with the naked eye. That’s definitely a change in perspective (and sometimes a bit scary, too)!

Another great way to change the perspective is to shoot your subject through something else. Windows and doors work well, but what about shooting that beautiful sunset through the limbs of trees or catching that flower by shooting through the cracks in a wooden fence? There are so many creative ways that you can do this! Similarly, photos shot through a glass ball or a glass of water can be really fun. Using mirrors is yet another way you can shoot through something and get some unique images.

Changing your perspective when shooting photos offers us three major advantages as photographers. Firstly, it can give us some outstanding shots. A small change in perspective can take a photo from ordinary to amazing. Secondly, it trains us to see the world a bit differently and to look for subjects that a lot of people might not notice. That’s one of my favorite things about macro photography. I have seen so much that I would never have seen before, had I not started doing this! And finally, getting images from unique and interesting perspectives helps us to build our own style or brand, and let’s us stand out from other people. So the next time you’re out there taking pictures, try out some of these techniques (and there are others as well. This discussion is far from exhaustive!) and see what works for you. I think you’ll be surprised by some of the cool images you get and it’s lots of fun! What is your favorite way to use a unique perspective when you take photos?