The international photographer (Jan-Dec 1935)

Six The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER January, 1935 CAMERA ANCLES By Karl A. Barleben, Jr., F.R.P.S. Y means of cleverly worked out angles, photo' graphs that will stand out from the rest can be made. It seems that amateur photographers today are divided into two general groups — the first rigidly adheres to the conventional angles, and the second goes to the other extreme with exaggerated perspective in an attempt to "out-do the other fellow." There is a happy medium, which few workers seem to go by, and yet which, if followed, will usually produce better results. A great deal about angles can be learned from studying the motion picture screen. The principles are basically the same for still photography. It is well known that any subject can be photographed from hundreds of different angles — the main question is, however, which one of those hundred tells the story in the forceful manner? This is a question which cannot be explained, for it is purely individual. A dozen photographers, told to go out and photograph at the same time, say a statue, would return, each with a different photograph of it. In other words, each cameraman would have photographed it from the angle which he considered was best. Hence, the matter of angles cannot be described — it is just one of the vague, indefinite subjects which abound in photographic art and science. There is such a thing, however, of studying an object to be photographed carefully in an effort to determine the best possible position for the camera. An old saying has it that the camera never lies. Photographers know better. By means of unconventional lighting and angles, a common-place object can be made to look like something entirely different. Uninitiated beginners often blunder into this truth quite by accident much to their surprise. The angle-conscious photographer will seek not only truth and beauty in the object, but also force and animation. Unusual angles can produce a masterpiece where otherwise only a record picture would result. An entirely different interpretation of the object can often result by careful angle selection. By unusual angles is meant an angle which shows the object from a fresh viewpoint. For example, when looking at a pretty girl on the beach at the seashore, we see her at what is known as eye-level. A conventional camera angle would be one, in this case, in which the camera was used at eye-level. Should the girl be lying on the sand taking a sunbath, we standing near her, would naturally look downward to see her. If we should photograph her now from eye-level, we would get a "camera angle" as far as photography is concerned, still the viewpoint would be natural to us, from our position. In this case, a normal angle — or unusual angle — might be made by using the camera low and close to the sand, so that the lens would be more or less on a level with her face. It all depends upon the viewpoint. When it comes to objects taller than we, we instinctively look upward at them. This would be a natural angle in photography, yet it may be made to be entirely unnatural. Take the case of tall buildings and skyscrapers— the Empire State Building, for example. Obviously, we cannot photograph the tower of this gigantic and famous building from a normal viewpoint, yet by pointing the camera upward, we follow only our own natural instinct in looking at it — upward. So from the very start, who can say what is normal and what is unusual in angles ? Many factors are involved, as will be discovered on reflection of the matter. An unusual angle might be considered one in which a familiar object is photographed from an angle which is unusual from our ordinary conception of the object. To illustrate, in photographing a man from a low viewpoint, we picture a well-known object from an unusual angle — that is to say, when we ordinarily look at a man we see him at eye-level and not from below. The fact that the camera is situated low injects the unusual angle aspect into the case. Motion picture cameramen know angles very well, for by means of them, they can make short stars look taller, tall stars look shorter, fat ones slim, and slim ones fat. That such knowledge is of vital value to them goes without saying. Still photographers, too, can use such knowledge to good advantage to subdue certain points, or emphasize others. To some people, modern photography means dizzy, crazy angles. As a result, some atrocities have been created which are indeed difficult to recognize, yet by some they are called "pictorial" or "artistic." As has been previously mentioned, there is a happy medium. In recent years, the miniature camera has been responsible for a good deal of angle work, because it permits photographs to be made under the most severe conditions. It is one thing to set up an ordinary-sized camera for an unusual angle, and quite another to do the same thing with a miniature camera. Obviously, the baby camera can "run circles" around the larger outfit. It is for this reason that unusual camera angles are so successfully accomplished with small cameras. Angle shots, to be of any value, should attempt to portray the object being photographed as natural-like as possible. If the angle does not do this, it simply defeats the purpose. The illustration entitled: "The Modern Spirit in Photography" is purely an angle shot, and would have been of little or no value if photographed from a conventional point of view. I was lying on my back, on the floor, when making this exposure, and as a result, a pleasing pattern has resulted. The unusual has been injected into the picture, yet it is not so violent as to produce a faulty or incorrect interpretation of the object. As you look at the picture, you immediately recognize what it is. Still, a severe and unusual angle was employed in its making. Amateur photographers should watch this matter of angles carefully. They should study the requirements of each object to be photographed, and determine just how far they dare go with extreme angles without dis please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.