[Part 2] Tiptorial: How I take Pictures!
Time for part 2! Here we will check out angles!
🎲How to find the right angles
So, right of the bat, I want to say: This is... not easy. It takes practice and looking at a lot of refences. If not, simply searching for the right angle in game!
However, I do have a couple of to-go hints! Especially from a storytelling perspective. 😉
Learning about types angles for Storytelling:
So, while I never did any film or photography study, I do watch a LOT of movies/shows! Eventually you start picking up on the angles they use to make something more dramatic, intense, etc.
Here's a great video on it:
(Oh and check that FOV/DOF as a reference on these as well to learn more about it 😉)
You will notice I do the same thing...
Our characters always have something cool and important to share! So make sure that in those scenes you show that to the audience.
Maybe something instence? Them telling the truth finally? Whatever comes to mind.
While I don't tend to use them much for emotional reasons, I tend to use them to show more of a perspective of either:
... Taking a break from making us feel the character is big in the world, but simply making them feel smaller than that/part of it.
... Showing more of the scene and what they're doing, while keeping creativity in the scene.
Just like I mentioned before, characters have things to say! And that's something the audience wants to focus on. Shoulder angle shots are great for that light-hearted banter.
Just like in real-life, when we have a conversation: Eye contact is what you want to focus on, not the background or whatever they're wearing. 😉
Including the character that the other character is talking to, makes it also much easier to feel like they're listening to your character. Getting a feel of that they're there.
In the end they're not just telling their thoughts to the audience, but also, well, the other character! 😉
I just came to the realization I barely use this, but when I do, it's to emphasize an action. Such as walking, or, in this case, cleaning.
It's often because I don't need the audience to see their faces at this point. In fact, we want to see what they're doing, and maybe even why 😉
Keep your characters away from the middle!:
That may sound odd, but I will show you why:
Not a bad picture of Hiroto! But let's see what happens if we move the camera more to the right...
You see how it's a bit more intense? You're more focused on him now, than the one where he was in the middle. Which shows how weird our brains really are lol.
You see how at the first one it feels as if we just met this dude on the street and passing him by?
But with the second one, you're much more like "ohh, what's going on?" It's almost as if you're more invited into the conversation 😉
First things first, I also apply the same "don't put things in the middle" rule here too!"
Additionally to that, I use a few methods for this! Either:
... Making them feel more Isometric-y
... Find a focus point in the landscape.
Here are some of the Isometric examples I mean. You see how things are top down, but also more 45 degrees rotated? That's what you want to go for! 😉
Focus points in Landscape pictures I tend to not be as strict in. Usually I try to:
See if angling the camera will capture the landscape better
about 30-50% sky/background mountains. So make sure to make screenshots of towns/cities where there is only 10% sky (unless it's a mansion, lol).
Find similar shapes. Like I did in picture 2! I simply noticed the symmetry and went with it.
Here I really need to mention finding similar shapes, really is exactly what I mean. You need to hunt for it. Look at the subject through different angles till you start noticing patterns! 😉