Tee: Alternative Apparel
Jeans: Target
Booties: Target
Scarf: Forever 21
I take the majority of my photos using a tripod set at a waist-high level. Sometimes if I'm trying to be inconspicuous in a public place and don't want to bust out my tripod, I'll place my camera on a ledge or a post that is about waist-high or lower, but never anything taller. I'd much rather have the camera be at a lower angle looking up than a higher angle looking down. My photography skills pretty much suck because I usually just set the self-timer and hope for the best (which results in a lot of blurry photos), but the one thing that I do have control over is the angle at which the camera is placed.
The other day I decided to take photos at this little park but it was raining pretty hard that day and the grass was all mushy so I took pictures on the sloped sidewalk. At first I placed the tripod on the slope above me with the camera angled downwards, and I was surprised how short I looked in the photos that ensued. My head was huge and my legs looked so stumpy! So I switched spots with my tripod and shot upwards, and that proved to be a much more flattering angle, because my head is further away and my legs are closer to the camera, making them look longer, and therefore making me look taller. Just a few inches of difference resulted in completely different photos. See photographic evidence below:
So there you go, a non-photographer's tip of the day: place your camera lower and angle it upwards to make yourself look taller!
PS. I'm glad so many of you said you'd be interesting in linking up for the 'style the oldest wearable item in your closet' challenge in my last post! I'll be figuring things out and letting you guys know the details soon. Most likely I'll set it for some time in mid-February to give us all enough time to do some closet digging :)
oh my gosh, that is so crazy how much the angle changes how you look! (the color of your jeans is amazing!)
ReplyDeleteI love those pants :) and not to mention your scarf! you should have a picture of all your scarfs one day
ReplyDeleteTaking photos from below looking up makes such a huge difference! I hate looking through photos afterwards only realizing I had forgot to adjust my tripod accordingly :(
ReplyDeleteOnce in awhile, I'd ask my husband to take photos of me and I don't have the heart to tell him to please crouch with camera in hand. Apparently he didn't get the memo that all Asians should know how to take photos: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5021xS01R1rw0gm0o1_500.jpg
I will remember this for future photos. I'm 5'0", so I need as much help as possible.
ReplyDeleteLove your photograph/style tip of the day! Just don't go too low, otherwise we see your nostril hairs, hehe. You look great! The low-angle shot also had the cleaner background.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried a remote with your camera yet? I finally bought one last year before my husband and I went to Yosemite (I think on Amazon a Canon one was only about $20) and it has helped SO MUCH in taking photos of ourselves (or myself in the case of fashion pics). And wow what a difference an angle makes! :)
ReplyDeleteseemomogo.blogspot.com
I've been coveting those booties. They look fab on you!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? And thanks! I love these "jeans" - in quotes because they aren't denim material at ALL. More like, twill pants. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catherine! I really don't have very many scarves. This one I bought at the end of last year when all of Forever 21's clearance section was an additional 50% off, so it only cost $1.50! Pretty sweet :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Those photos are really good at making your point! I'm definitely gonna have to pay attention to my camera angles now, lol.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAH OMG i was going to include that ASIANS TAKING PICTURES meme in my post to demonstrate how low your photographer has to crouch/bend down, but I took it out at the last minute. Those pics never fail to crack me up :)
ReplyDeleteHahah yes! nostril hair = no bueno.
ReplyDeleteI use a point and shoot, so its not remote-compatible :( The ONLY reason why I want to upgrade to a dSLR is so I can use a remote, but... no. I have no photography skills, so it just wouldn't be worth the money.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Merrick! They were 70% off in store!
ReplyDeleteLove this outfit! Adorable scarf and I'm a sucker for a cute pair of wedged booties.
ReplyDeleteAnd haha what a great tip! It's crazy how camera angles can do this!
Looking forward to the link up!
These are good tips since I am currently looking to buy a tripod. My daughters or husband do my photos now, but I would like to be able to do my own photos eventually. My photo skills suck too so it will be a learning process :) Your scarf is really pretty paired with your jeans too. Heather
ReplyDeleteWow! That's crazy how much the angle changes the perspective of the picture. That, plus your adorable wedges make your legs look 38 miles long!
ReplyDeleteMemes are great! Whenever I need a pick me up, I browse my favorites. I think my all-time favorite is still awkward penguin because 99% of them is the story of my life, lol.
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy, love this post. I used to use a tripod and now I just use my iPhone at eye level and was wondering why my legs always looked so stumpy haha. I may have to go back to using a tripod at a lower level. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a difference a change of angle makes! I'll definitely have to experiment with a lower angle. :)
ReplyDeleteThe turquoise pants look great with the tan booties.
So remembering this tip for when I finally get my camera going...and I have those boots - so comfy!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a huge difference! This is a great tip, Kimmie!
ReplyDeleteHah! This made me laugh like crazy because my boyfriend is Asian and he doesn't know how to take photos! He always takes the most unflattering, worst photos of me when we're on vacation together!
ReplyDeleteThat is such a great tip! I need to get a proper camera to take pics for my blog. You look great and I'm loving the jeans.
ReplyDeleteClaire http://polkadotsandrainbowdrops.blogspot.co.uk/
It's crazy how the angle of the camera can make all the difference!
ReplyDeletewww.kacieskloset.blogspot.com
www.daisyraeboutique.com
Yes they are! I was googling images for them (the website only has the one shoe, and I wanted a picture of the pair of them, for my month-end spending recap) and a picture from your blog popped up! :) Not a big fan of the plastic heel but I got them at 70% off and they are indeed SUPER comfy.
ReplyDeleteYou need to tell him to master that Asian squat down ASAP. ;)
ReplyDeletehaha you're right! the angles does make a difference! I love the idea of looking taller esp since I'm a shorty. ;) I love the booties and jeans! Such a pretty blue color.
ReplyDeletexo - Sheila
www.sheislovelyblog.com
I love this outfit. It's so simple! How are the shoes? I bought a gray pair form Old Navy in December 2011 and I wore it maybe 1-2 times because I'm not sure how I should style them.
ReplyDeleteWow. So that's why I look so weird in the photos my FIL takes (he's like a foot taller than I am). My head looks huge in those pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your teal jeans.
Oh that's such a good point about the angle of the camera....esp for petite ladies for myself. Thanks for pointing that out.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the color of your Target pants!!! It looks so great on you!! xoxo, Phoebe
oh man, that is quite the difference. I always thought you would want to take pictures from a little bit above waist height to appear thinner and now I'm not so sure because your legs do look so much longer. I'm not sure if I'm taking mine from the wrong angle although I think mine are pretty straight on. Hmm.
ReplyDeletethe colour of your jeans is wonderful! isn't the angled up shot a wonderful thing? :)
ReplyDeletewww.pandaphilia.com
Wow! I'm the opposite of you, I don't care how short I look, but for the love of everything holy, DON'T let me look fat! I always want photos taken of me from above because I can't see wrinkles in my neck or my double chin which are both very prominent when I am photographed from below. Also, I am a creep and I read all comments and the asian squat down just cracked me UP! My husband is 6'5" and he hates taking my pictures, he would kill me if I tried to make him cop a squat anywhere for a photo! LOL! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a huge difference the angle makes. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, it's so important for us shorties to know (I'm 5'1") :)
ReplyDeleteI am SOLD on those boots. I might have to hit up Target this weekend to see if there is still a chance. And good photography tip!
ReplyDeleteI hope they still have some! They're SUPER comfortable :) If you can't find any, let me know and I'll check my Targets for you!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm not saying to photograph from like, WAY low, so that you're looking up on double chins :) But I guess there's the tradeoff of looking skinnier vs. looking taller.. though the looking skinny (photographed from above) comes with a big head, and my head is big enough as it is. Don't want to highlight that any more ;)
ReplyDeleteWell above the waist does make you look thinner I think, but then you have gigantic-head-syndrome. I'd rather look taller, but I dunno if you need to look taller since you're tall enough already. I think your pictures look perfectly fine though as they are. FO REALS.
ReplyDeleteThe shoes are really comfy! I'm not completely sold on the booties thing since I don't really know how to style them either, but for like $10, I can try them out. If I can find lots of ways to wear them, then I might think about getting a nicer gray or black pair as well :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sheila!
ReplyDeleteHaha! your pics are fine. But if you're shopping for a non-dSLR camera, be sure to look for one that has the ability to take multiple photos with the self-timer! I set mine to take like 10 at a time so I don't have to keep running back and forth. Or, you could just get a dSLR and a remote :)
ReplyDeleteOMG I totally relate to awkward penguin too. I don't know what my favorite is... grumpy cat or the "aint nobody got time for that"? I spend so much time on failblog and 9gag, lol.
ReplyDeleteI really really want a dSLR. One day.
ReplyDeleteYou look so tall! It took me a really, really long time to figure out why some people thought I was a petite blogger until I finally realized the thing about camera angles. Even now I don't shoot from below or fully level, but I'm inching towards that way because I don't want people thinking I'm gonna give them petite fashion help haha.
ReplyDeleteAHAHAHAHA THIS IS AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteHaha! How tall are you anyway? I would guess you're about 5'5" or 5'6"? but I'm terrible at guessing peoples heights from internet pictures :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I follow a few petite blogs but I'm not petite myself (I'm on the petite/normal border, so I can buy petite sized skirts, but not pants or long sleeved shirts because they're always slightly too short) and it sometimes gets annoying that people assume that just because I'm Asian and a blogger, it automatically makes me a petite blogger. Oh well!
I LOVE those pants and your cute scarf :)
ReplyDeletexo
Lizzie
placeclevertitlehere.blogspot.com
haha. the comments about the Asian squat below literally made me laugh out loud. So funny. When I think about it, I probably take most of my pictures from about that high too.
ReplyDeleteI definitely remember in high school my mom was taking promo pictures of all of the girls lined up, but we were on the downside of the slope and they were further up, and I still laugh at the pictures when I see them because it looks like oompa loompa prom.
Oompa loompa prom, that totally made me LOL! I think waist high is perfect for a straight-on shot. Going too much in either direction is not going to be flattering, but obviously you know more than me, miss photography minor in college ;)
ReplyDeleteYep, you nailed it--5'6"!
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