DC Day 1: Move Your Body to Get the Best Photos

Ever played the popular games Limbo or Twister? Photography should be a lot like that. At least that’s something that I learned today.
Allison Maryan here, coming to you from the Ultimate Stock Photography Workshop in Washington, D.C.  My colleagues and I will be gathering top tips from the back of the lecture room and out in the field to share with you each day this week.
Yesterday, 30 attendees gathered early for a Pre-Workshop Beginner’s Camera Basics Class.  After a quick camera lesson, we broke into small groups and headed out to shoot in the iconic city of Washington, D.C.
D.C. native and professional photographer, Stacey Blomstrom answered questions at the Korean War Memorial until suddenly saying, “Let’s change this up.” Next thing I knew, Stacey was lying on her stomach at the base of the memorial, camera-to-face yelling, “Get down low over here and the soldiers look MASSIVE.”
Other tourists started giggling and pointing at the crazy woman rolling around on the ground with her large camera. But the maneuver really paid off in her photograph. The statues take on a whole different meaning when they tower over you, and the photo evokes a much stronger emotion.
Today, I learned that viewpoint is everything. You can fiddle with your zoom, aperture and ISO all you want, but you need to physically move your entire body to get images that make people say, “WOW.”
Check out these pictures of attendees “getting low” at the Korean War Memorial and in the Library of Congress.


Try this out for yourself. Remember some of those old Twister moves and get physical with your photography. I bet you’ll be surprised at the difference it will make.
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