Watch video: Home photography ideas – Take a POV photo
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• Home photography ideas
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• Best tripods
• Best lighting kits
• Best reflectors
• Best macro lenses
Ever wished that somebody could see things from your point of view? Well, now you can share exactly that by taking a POV photograph.
This is a great way to take an expressive portrait of your surroundings as you see them, whether you want to stretch your narrative creativity or depict daily life during the lockdown.
Don’t just settle for a hurried phone pic, though – since you've got time on your hands, set things up properly and use your camera for a considered point-of-view photo that will grab people's attention on Facebook and Instagram.
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With some planning, and by applying a few simple camera techniques, you’ll have an image that tells a story to be proud of, and will leave people wondering how you took the shot.
The key to a successful POV photo is becoming ‘one’ with your tripod; you need to find a position where you can get both your hands and feet in the image to give the viewer a sense of what it’s like from your perspective.
To avoid jogging the camera during the exposure, and to have both hands in shot, make use of the self-timer. Remember that you are trying to replicate how the human eye would see the scene, so make sure the right proportion of limbs feature in your frame!
01 Set the scene
Choose what you want your image to say about you, and include relevant props in the shot. A symmetrical scene, careful attention to the rule of thirds and use of color can give your image greater impact.
02 Perfect the Point of View
To get your camera to see the scene as your eyes would, set the tripod at eye level and use a focal length of 30mm or less to fit everything into the scene – remember, your hands will be in the composition, too.
03 Find your focus
Use manual AF point selection to focus on one of your hands or a prop you want to highlight. Get your hands (and feet!) into the frame then use your DSLR’s self-timer mode to take a snapshot of your life.
Read more:
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The best Canon lenses: go longer, wider and closer with your Canon camera
The best Nikon lenses in 2020: expand your Nikon DSLR with these lenses
