Have you ever seen a photo that has just jumped out at you and you don’t know why? It is an amazing feeling when you find a photo that reaches out and speaks to you. The best part is: anyone can take this kind of photo.

Christmas tree

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It is easy to change an ordinary photo of a mall Christmas tree and turn it into something a little bit out of the ordinary. When you shoot from the ground you change the perception of the photo. Remember you can find a great shot anywhere.

One of the basic reasons why great pictures stand out is because the photographer managed to change the perspective of the photo; they made it a little bit different than the way we usually see things. A professional photographer will use different lenses like a wide-angle lens or a telephoto to achieve this effect; however, you don’t have to be a professional to find that great photo.

It doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment to take a fantastic photo (don’t tell a professional photographer because they cherish their cool lens); all it really takes is a little bit of imagination and a keen eye. It can be quiet easy and fun to transform an ordinary picture into a piece of art.

The reality is that most people end up taking pictures that are horizontal and at eye level. Because the perspective never changes, all the photos end up looking the same. For the professional photographer, these kinds of photos are called “grip and grins” because everyone is just standing around smiling at the camera.

Instead of taking the same old picture, why not try getting lower and shooting the scene from the ground up. This is called a ground-view perspective; this type of photography so interesting because not many photographers utilize this technique. When you find a ground-view photo it can really stand out.

All ground view photos have a strong sense of depth in the photo, mostly because it incorporates a lot of the foreground. The closer to the ground you are, the more it will incorporate in the photo. This strong foreground is great for scenic photos as it skews the middle and background. The background appears to shrink as you move into the photo.

In our picture, the Christmas tree is actually 20-feet high; however it looks just bigger than the small fence in the foreground.

A ground level-perspective is also great for capturing people, especially if the background is extremely busy, which means a lot is happening behind your subject. Moving lower and taking a picture from the ground up can help remove most of the activity and isolate your subject.

Again shooting from the ground will also create a skewed element of the photo as the person’s lower body will be more pronounced than the head. Be careful of taking pictures of people from the ground up as it can highlight a person’s chin, which is not very flattering.

Ask the person to tilt their chin towards the camera to frame the face.

It is important to remember that the closer to the ground you are the more dramatic the perspective, so don’t be afraid to get a little dirty and have a little bit of fun.

The more fun you have taking pictures, the more it will come out in your photos. Getting down on the ground to shoot a single flower may feel a little ridiculous but it can be fun to laugh at yourself. In the end you will have a few good stories to tell and have great photos to show.