13 Ideas for Taking Outdoor Photos
You don’t need expensive equipment to take beautiful photos — all you need to do is use your imagination. For example, a photographer only needs to get into a special position to create the effect of levitation in a photo, while a model will only need to stand on her tiptoes. Moreover, the shots showing diving into the water can be easily captured with the help of an ordinary glass.
5-Minute Crafts is sharing some checked recommendations that will be useful in creating unusual photos out in the fresh air.
“Rain” from rose petals
Collect rose petals and put them at the very bottom of an umbrella that opens automatically. While shooting, raise the umbrella high above you and open it, releasing the petals. In the fall, you can use small colored leaves instead of petals.
“Levitation”
Tie the laces of your sneakers to fasten your shoes together. Put one sneaker on your right foot, press your left to your right, and stand on your tiptoes. Keep your right foot perpendicular to the ground. With the right lighting, the shadow from the sneakers will hide the toe of the left foot and you’ll get the illusion of levitation in the frame.
Through the looking glass
Place a mirror into flowers and slightly bend it back so that it reflects the sky. Now get closer and take a pic of your reflection.
If the mirror is big enough, try to hide behind it so that your body is not visible. Only your arms, legs, and head should be seen. Bend the mirror forward so that it reflects the flowers and the lawn around it. As a result, you’ll get a beautiful effect that looks as if your body is disappearing into another dimension.
Tricks with perspective
Get your friends to stand back on a small hill and pretend as if they are holding a huge bottle. Move away from them by going down to the bottom of the hill, and take a small bottle of soda.
With the help of the camera, catch the position where the illusion that your friends are holding the bottle is created.
Tip: Try taking 2 photos with a focus on the girls in one photo and focus on the bottle in the second photo. Later join the photos so that you get a feeling that everything is happening at the same distance from the camera.
If you don’t have a bottle, you can take a photo with a giant foot. It’s important to shoot down up so that the sky and the tops of the trees get into the frame, which will make the foot look even bigger.
Flowers or even a doughnut will be ok to use for this trick too.
The plane window
In order to imitate a plane window, you’ll need to take a photo of yourself with a toilet seat in the background. The main thing to keep in mind is that the background should also show the sky and the focus should be on the face.
Long legs
Put your legs forward, slightly bending at the knees, stretch your socks, place your feet next to each other. The photographer should keep the camera close to the ground and tilt it slightly backward, which will make the legs look longer.
Sunset in the lightbulb
Take an ordinary lightbulb and, holding it in front of the phone, catch the gleam of the sunset to create a beautiful effect like in the photo above.
Fake partner or extra legs
Put jeans on your arms and sneakers on your hands. Bend forward. Now the photographer needs to move slightly back and remove your body and head from the frame.
Playing with reflection
Sit opposite a water surface so that your reflection is seen. Make sure it looks symmetrical. Take a photo and turn the image around by 180°.
Walking on clouds
Turn the camera and place your phone at the base of the stairs or a curb. Stand on the bottom stair or curb so that you lean on it with one foot. Bring the other leg slightly over the phone, without dropping it down.
Extra lighting for the face
Use plain white paper or a sheet of foil instead of a light reflector to evenly illuminate your face when shooting outdoors, without causing discomfort to your eyes.
Beautiful shade on a sunny background
Take a colander and hold it over your head so that the sun shines through its holes creating a beautiful light and shadow pattern on your face.
Underwater shooting
In order to shoot underwater, place a phone with its camera turned on into a transparent glass. The camera should be located at the bottom of the glass. Partially immerse the glass in the water. This will let the camera go under the water and keep your phone safe at the same time. The higher the quality of the glass and the closer to the wall of the glass the camera is, the more accurate the photo will be.
Bonus: How to make a video of a flower growing on your hand
This trick is hidden in something called reverse shooting and is accomplished with the help of a second pair of hands. Place a handful of soil in your left hand and put a flower in its center. Hide its stalk between your fingers, under your hand. The second person should be holding the camera and taking a close-up shot of the flower in your hand from top to bottom. Pull the end of the flower with your free hand so that it goes inside the soil and disappears in your hand. It’s ready to go!
All you have left to do is to reverse the video with the help of a video editor or a special app.