Perspective. Point of view. It’s an important element of composition in a photograph. Simply stated, perspective in photography helps to convey a sense of depth or spatial relationship between objects in an image. And using it effectively can help a two-dimensional photograph feel a little more like a three-dimensional object.
To capture different perspectives in a photo, it requires that I physically move my body and my camera around my subject. It’s an intentional movement towards and openness to learning and growing and expanding my creative vision.
I’ve thought a lot about this post over the past several years. I wrote it during a time when I was really struggling to makes sense out of a difficult situation. Since then, the world seems to have only gotten more difficult and more conflicted. And so I think this post is still relevant for me. A reminder to always lead with my heart and be open to new perspectives.
For me, taking pictures of daisies is sort of like eating Lays potato chips….I can’t stop with just one.
One of the things I love about photography is how by changing my perspective I can tell a completely different story. Even when it comes to a bunch of humble daisies. So for instance, by pulling back and including my kitchen doors, it puts my jar of daisies into context…a happy little flower on a cold, gray day.
But then if I change to my macro lens and get up close, tiny details come into focus and tell the story of a whole new world of possibility.
And what about the underneath of a flower? An often overlooked perspective, but one with a unique beauty all its own.
As I was going through my photos the other day, I was thinking about the power of perspective. And it crossed my mind how each of these stories about my humble little daisies is entirely true – one perspective does not negate another. But individually they don’t tell the whole story.
And I began to wonder how often I do this in my own personal life. How often do I look at things through one perspective? And when I am presented with a conflicting perspective, how do I attempt to reconcile that with my own singular experience?
What I’ve come to realize is that life isn’t really that different than daisies. Each perspective can be completely true – one does not have to invalidate the other. And the best thing I can do is to make space in my heart for perspectives that might be different than my own. Together they tell the whole story.
Love, Kelly
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