© Tim Pannell Photography

Here’s a really simple photography tip: try to find a new angle to shoot from.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve seen the same shot over and over again.

A little kid sitting in a chair on green grass, shot from an adult’s perspective.

The adult stands in front of the kid and shoots down on them.

The adult is between 5′ 3″ and 5′ 10″ tall.

They’re nice shots, but I’m amazed at how consistent they are from picture to picture.

The goal isn’t always attainable, but it’s nice when an effort is made to try to be a little different than everyone else.

Look for interesting shapes, light patterns, backgrounds, colors and angles.

Try getting down low with your subject.  Shoot at their level.

Try shooting them from behind, you don’t always have to show their face to get a great image.

I did this shot for a client down in Fort Meyers, Florida.

This playground was in a fairly ugly area and the background was really busy with old buildings, bad colors and unkept landscaping.

I wasn’t happy with the location and I was struggling to get something nice that captured the freedom kids feel at the playground.

I shot her from the front and hated it.  I shot her from the side and hated it even more.

She wanted to go higher and higher and eventually got to the point where she was really leaning close to upside down at the apex.

I got down pretty low to the ground so I could eliminate the ugly cluttered background.

This let me shoot into the treetops and sky.

Since I wasn’t shooting her face, I was looking more for interesting shapes.

I asked her to have a good time and have as much fun as she could.

Mission accomplished.