Th first thing people do when they get interested in photography is try to come up with ways to make their boring pictures from their point-and-shoot/cell phone camera/whatever more interesting. Good for them. I did that. I still do that. All the time. There is messing the around with post-processing, more thoughtful composition, getting high, getting low, trying to see things a little differently, and that is just the start of things. Sometimes things work, and sometimes they don't. Lest it be mistaken, I have had my fair share of photography experiments that I loved at the time and now look back on and cringe.
As an amateur hobbyist I don't have a problem with people trying out new things with their cameras. That is how you learn: by trying. But there is one thing I refuse to stop being a snob about, and that is when people think they are being creative by taking an everyday picture at a 45-degree angle. All the freaking time. I understand quirky angles, and I understand using dramatic angles for creative purposes. But, really, I don't need to see your kitchen table looking like it is about to slide out of the photo or a bookshelf that looks precariously balanced. Case and point, this photo found on Flickr. Lady on the left, your food is about to disappear into your lap.
Let me demonstrate with some pictures of my own.
This is an absolutely nothing special picture of Evan and Lena a few years ago on a dirt road somewhere in the desert in either Colorado or Utah. Poor composition, poor exposure, blah blah blah. The reason I took it is because Lena had just slid off the side of the track down the hill, and was covered in dirt, and Evan had scooped her up to bring her back to the car. I wanted to remember that moment. In all of its boringness. The mountains in the background give away that I wasn't paying any attention to the composition, as the angle is a little off, but the road seems reasonably level enough.
What happens though if we tilt it jauntily, though? (Forgive the crappy photoshopping.)
Maybe a little more interesting, or a little more sloppy, depending on how you may be feeling? Still, it is reasonable enough to assume that if this were a true angle that Evan could legitimately be walking on that track. But this one?
Oh. Em. Gee. My husband is going to fall over backwards, drop my child, and the car is going to slide off this ridiculously angled road. Look, the tire tracks even veer off down the slope.
Or another one, shall we?
This is a view to the north of Utah County on the side of Y-Mountain taken last year. The weather was spectacular, but this picture could have used some better exposure as well as a tripod, and a host of other things.
Now let's tilt it a bit.
Alright. Definitely seeing the need for proper composure especially in landscape photography, but nothing completely disconcerting.
But this one?
Holy *&%^! Good thing I was around with my camera to capture Utah Lake rapidly draining out of the valley!
Or this way...
OMG! OMG! OMG! Call the fire brigade. Happy Valley is being consumed by floodwaters. And I am about to fall of my chair tilting my head to look at this picture at the correct angle.
Seriously. Am I alone in feeling this way? I know I am far from perfect (photography included), but sometimes I feel like Scar on the Lion King... "I am surrounded by idiots." Unsolicited tips for the day: tilt your camera by all means, but don't overdo it. My neck hurts, and I enjoy keeping my balance. Your jaunty angle looks kind of ridiculous, and you aren't doing anything unique. Unless you are being purposefully creative. In which case forget everything I just said.
