When taking pictures of our family, it’s easy to get stuck in the click and go mentality and we end up with the same shot over and over again. Here’s my family in front of the lake, now my family at the pumpkin patch, now my family in front of the Christmas tree my husband convinced me to drive 240 miles to cut down in the middle of a blizzard, and now here we again at Easter in the garden with the kids who have chocolate smeared all over their new Sunday best.  We count on the context of the scene to make our shots appealing and they often are, but sometimes by just moving around and looking for a new angle can make your pictures so much more interesting not only to us, but to others as well .   

Shot #1 Welcome to Idaho! Nothing about this shot excites me. So what do I do? I move.

Shot #2 Ok, this is more interesting, we’re getting a little warmer. Let’s take it one step further.

Shot #3 So this is a totally different feel from Shot #1. I really love how the blue of the sky is matching his eyes. I like his expression and how his body just kind swags. I think  growing up in front of a camera my son feels fairly comfortable having a big lens following him around.  

Shot #4 I take one more shot, with his head replacing the “O” of IDAHO. I’m thinking this is the shot I’m going to like best until I look at them at home on my computer and then I can see Shot #3 just works better for me. Good heavens, my filter over my lens is filthy (fortunately an easy fix).

Looking for that better angle isn’t rocket science, just a few steps one way or the other. Try it at home and let me know how it works for you!