99% of the time we shoot photos from the same place: standing height. Break out of the standard photo mold by changing angles. Getting up high or down low will add instant variety to your photos. Try out these ideas for an easy creative photo!

Up and down: essential creative photo ideas for any photoshoot

Getting up high can be useful for large group photos where you need to see everyone, but it’s just as useful for portraits to capture a different angle from the usual. This adds interest, no step ladder required!

Our featured photographer this week is Edwina, owner of EKP Studios, specialists from Australia in portraits, weddings and commercial photography. Edwina and I have worked together on various projects for years and she recently took these beautiful photos of me with my hubby and kids, and generously agreed to share them for this post. Head over to EKP Studios on Instagram to say hi.

How to use this photo pose prompt

This is a great prompt for all ages, from babies and toddlers to small groups (think families, bridal parties, tween friendship groups). When holding (heavy) cameras over the top of people, stay safe by having your camera secured on a strap. This is especially important if your subject is a baby.

When getting down low to shoot up, generally this means you’ll be lying on the ground on your back. Be aware of your own safety, and that of your camera, and make sure your subjects aren’t going to accidental fall or drop something on you and your gear! Throw a towel into your photoshoot kit to lie on to protect your clothes from mud or wet grass.

For more ideas like this one, check out Find the Unexpected.

Idea 1: Shoot down

• Get above your subject and shoot down. For babies, toddlers and small kids they could sit or even stand if you are tall enough. For older kids and adults, have them lie on their backs.
• Have them look straight up into the camera. The top of the head is not the goal here! Capture faces looking up at the camera, everyone lying in a ring with their heads in the center, two people with heads together (side by side or top-and-tail).
• To get height when your own standing heigh isn’t enough, consider using: a step ladder, a sturdy chair or table, a balcony or veranda, a top floor window. Be safe!
• Look for leading lines and geometric shapes that you can use as a background to add interest from this angle. Tree roots, patterned carpets or picnic rugs, beach towels, bricks or tiles.
• Look for creative framing options that you can use to frame the subject. Put them in a boat, a baby in a rustic metal washtub, have siblings hold an empty ornate picture frame or Christmas wreath to frame their faces.
• A very popular shot for drone wedding photography is to have the bride and groom lie down somewhere interesting and then shoot down with the drone from high above. Make sure the dress is arranged attractively! Locations you could use for this include: empty carpark, jetty over a lake, a rowboat, rocks by the beachside, sand by the water’s edge, the aisles of a vineyard, garden pathway, a rooftop balcony. Anywhere with an interesting geometric or nature feel will work!

Idea 2: Shoot up

• Get below your subject and shoot up. Have your subjects lean in over you, either alone or in groups. Shoot wide to capture everything.
• Have a family group lean in over you with the parents holding the kids upside-down. Capture laughing faces.

• Have a friendship group (tweens at a birthday party, end-of-school celebrations, cousins and siblings at a family reunion) link up in a ring with arms around backs and shoulders. Have them lean in over you in a circle of faces.
• Have a bridal party form a ring around you and “cheers” their glasses and bottles above you as you lie on the ground in the middle. Do this at the start of the night when inebriation is less likely to result in your camera (and face) getting splashed with beverages…
• Get down low on the wedding dancefloor and have the guests dance around you. Shoot ultra-wide to capture all the movement and excitement.

Easy creative photo idea: creative extension

• Play with blur and movement by closing your aperture down to restrict light, and opening your shutter for a long time. Try having everyone move in a circle around you on the ground, or charge in from the sides. Be careful you don’t get trampled!
• Try light painting while shooting from above. Have a wedding couple lie on the ground holding hands and facing each other, set your camera to a long shutter speed, and have an assistant jog around them in a heart shape holding a lit sparkler or light painting wand. Add a flash at the end on rear-curtain sync if desired (see Get Flashy for more on this).