Tips for illustrating height within photographs

Use a person in the photo to show height

A few months back my partner and I visited Yarrangobilly Caves in NSW, Australia. Both being avid photographers, it’s useful to return home and compare photographs. This time, there was a particular shot where my own image miserably failed to show the humongous size of the caves.  On the other hand, my partners photograph showed it perfectly, as demonstrated below.

example of height within a photograph

As you can see, by placing a person in the scene helps to really keep the overall image in perspective. Now compare it to my photo below that doesn’t include a person. The actual entry to the cave itself looks quite small.

how not to keep things in perspective

Another time I can recall was when we were photographing a tall tree. Like many photographers we pointed our camera up towards the sky to try and capture the height. Wrong! As you can see from the result below, we would have been better off placing a person in the shot to achieve perspective across the entire scene.

Alternatively, in the image below it is easy to see how tall the tree’s are by comparing them to the person standing in the front.

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Posted in Tips for beginners at April 22nd, 2009. No Comments.

Tips for photographing travels through other tourists and people

Tips for photographing your travels through the experiences of other tourists

On a recent trip to Melbourne here in Australia, my partner and I visited the Eureka Tower. It was at this place, I realised how fantastic it was to stand back and photograph my own experiences, through those of other tourists. In other words, photograph the people experiencing the place, instead of the actual surroundings.

Take the image below for example.

Eureka Tower Melbourne Australia

For those who have never visited, the Eureka Tower is Melbourne’s tallest building. Located in Southbank, it offers visitors spectacular 360 degree views of the city. As you can imagine, sunsets are a popular time for tourists to experience the tower.

From looking at the image above, it would have been easy to go with my first thoughts of walking right up to the glass windows and photographing the most obvious ie the beautiful sunset. To be honest, this is exactly what I did to begin with. As the sun drifted lower and was replaced by a wonderful color in the sky, I realised the serenity seen in the crowd of people that were gathering. There is truth to the saying: ‘You can find pleasure in the simplest of things, like a beautiful sunset‘.

For myself, I also found pleasure in watching the calmness and peacefulness of those around me. It was a wonderful moment to share with others, and that is exactly what I wanted to capture with my camera.

The following day, we visited the National Gallery of Victoria. On this day I was so taken by the quality of Art that was on display, that I decided to photograph my partners similar experiences. Therefore, I stood back and photographed him enjoying art works from the likes of Picaso, Amigoni and Rembrandt amongst others.

National Gallery of Victoria, art gallery Melbourne

Travel Photography Tip – Stand back and photograph the experiences of other travellers. That way when you return home, you’ll also remember the experience and emotions you felt and not only the sunset.

Posted in Travel Photography at April 16th, 2009. 3 Comments.