Portrait Photography How To

Sometimes small things can make a big difference in a photo. No, it’s not always getting fancy lens for your camera or adding professional lighting to a portrait – though those things can help image quality – it can be simply about getting a fresh perspective on your subject.

According to pro photographer Brandon Cole, picking a new angle to shoot from will “drastically enhance the feel of your photos.” In the below video, Cole takes you on one of his photo shoots to show you how.

“Shooting at the same distance and focal length can get tiring and it simply does nothing for your shots,” Cole says. “You can enhance every shot you take simply by shooting at different ANGLES. Looking down, looking up, moving will drastically enhance the feel and look of your photos.”

Watch below as he photographs a model initially from unflattering angles that produce less impactful images. Then see how Cole changes up things by looking for the right angle to produce attractive portraits that pop off the screen.

“There are a lot of things in photography that can make or break your pictures,” he explains. “You’ve got the poses, you’ve got the expressions, editing, lighting, composition, and a lot of different things. But when you actually take a picture of somebody, you have to learn how to be creative. And one of the biggest things to help you be creative are angles. You’ve got to find ways to draw your audience in or captivate them. And one of the simple ways to go about doing that is to try to shoot at different angels, try to draw your audience in, try something different and see what you come up with. So today I’m going to teach you guys how to do angles.”