I’ve been shooting a lot in portrait mode recently, flipping the camera on its side and trying a different perspective.

Why?

Why not?

I find it interesting how our ubiquitous use of phones as cameras and content-browsing devices has shifted the way we film and crop our images. Platforms like Instagram work better for vertically oriented photographs (or the classic square) and not horizontally oriented ones. Cameras are made to shoot horizontally, in a landscape format. Phone cameras aren’t.

I like to keep trying new things with my photography to stave off getting into a comfortable space, a rut, where I don’t push to develop my skills. Is shooting in portrait a response to how images are viewed on social media platforms? Maybe, but probably not. I’ve been a bit erratic with my online presence recently, and I’m trying to keep my interactions to a minimum while I focus on completing my doctorate (8 months to go!).

I’m trying to just enjoy my photography more at the moment, and use it as a break from work, rather than work of its own. I like the results I’ve been getting, shooting in portrait, or shooting with a portrait composition in mind. It’s another tool to have in the toolbox, and one people often forget is there. What we fill the frame with and what we leave out are equally important.

Trying different compositions is a quick and easy way of forcing your brain to think differently about your photography. In something as simple as turning the camera on its side, you get a new perspective. The compositional rules are all the same, but the way we look at a scene or a subject changes. I’ve also started cropping to different aspect ratios than the usual 3×2 standard format of a DLSR sensor, trying to see what works best for each and every image. It’s surprising how such simple changes can be so rewarding.