The Right Perspective

Gorgeous cathedrals or glorious mountain ranges from your last vacation can create a quick and impressive shot. But that’s not the end of the story. With the right angle of view, you can give your photos the right depth and bring them to life. Improve the efficacy of your photos by choosing the right angle of view.

Fortunately, thanks to digital media and memory cards with an ever-increasing capacity, there's no longer any limit to the amount of photographs you can take - so make the most of digital photography and always take multiple snaps! It's best to photograph an object using three different shots so that you can weed out the weaker images afterwards, rather than just ending up with an unsatisfactory image.

Tip: With the free ifolor Designer, you can also edit and optimise your photos during the ordering process of your photo products.

The Rule of Thirds is a simplification of the “Golden Ratio”. This rule divides the image thrice horizontally, and thrice vertically. Using four guidng lines create nine identical areas with four intersections. Important photo subjects should appear on the lines or at the intersections, in order to create a particularly harmonious picture.

For the effect of the photo, it is important if the main subject is in the middle or close to the edges. Centering the subject can sometimes be regarded as boring. Try it yourself by placing the subject on the left or right image border. If you create multiple shots you can compare the effects of each shot and choose the most powerful afterwards.

There are countless shots of towering mountains and beaches stretching to infinity in the sunset that nevertheless end up looking dull and fail to convey that special vacation feeling. When taking photographs of an oceanic panorama, focus on a nearby object in order to convey the width and length of the entire image. A bridge or a passing ship in the foreground can work wonders.

A picture is defined by its borders and for this reason many photographers attempt to capture as much as possible in one shot. This often results in cluttered, chaotic shots, which in turn overwhelm the object or idea of the picture. When photographing consider the story you want your picture to tell and which objects will help you tell that story, and which will disturb it.

Not every subject works best in a classic picture frame, so they may appear best on canvas or acrylic glass.

Many viewers expect a complete image of the subject and are confused when you present only a partial image. However, a partially-cropped subject is sometimes more interesting and better expresses the mood of the moment. Moreover, it makes your shot more exciting and challenges the observer’s imagination.

It's often worth taking a look at your image archive and subsequently crop inconsistent images. With a bit of patience, willingness to experiment and the right cut you can still turn cluttered images into exciting compositions you'll be happy to print out on photo paper and show to your friends.