To be more creative, and to learn how to have more child-like delight in photography, LOOK UP!
London, NYC, Kyoto, Tokyo:
See the streets from the perspective of a child
![Low angle urban landscape. Uji, Kyoto 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/FDCB1FC1-DD36-48DC-AB99-BD73B204ED49.jpeg?resize=1200%2C795)
The mistake:
We always keep our eyes at street level.
I think all photographers would benefit by looking up more often.
1. What is in the sky?
![Airplane silhouette. Sapa, Vietnam 2016](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/D3268465-E7B1-4F3B-AE5B-4B2F5B4F150B.jpeg?resize=1200%2C795)
By looking up, you just see more things you might over-look, like airplanes passing you.
Or, you might miss out on beautiful clouds and sunsets.
![eric kim street photography x100f fujifilm-7338](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/eric-kim-street-photography-x100f-fujifilm-7338.jpg?resize=1000%2C667)
2. Unique perspective
![Barbed wire. Kyoto, 2017. Google Nexus 6P and HDR+. Processed with VSCO with a6 preset](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2017-08-14-12.34.03-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C900)
Another mistake we make in photography:
We keep hunting for very extraordinary subjects or scenes, and pass up ordinary scenes.
I think photography is more interesting when we identify ordinary scenes, and we make the ordinary scene or subject look more interesting, by transforming it through unique composition or perspective.
![Looking up. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-KYOTO-PHOTOGRAPHY-2017-0140244.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
![Looking up. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-KYOTO-PHOTOGRAPHY-2017-0140244.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
For example, getting close to a wall, and making photos just looking up. This is why I like architecture photography — both for the back workout (like doing yoga stretches), but having that child-like sense of wonder, looking up. Because when you are a child, you’re always looking up.
For example, while in Kyoto, I saw this car on a lift:
![Green car. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-PHOTOGRAPHY-KYOTO-COLOR-0138646.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Shot from far-away, it is an OK photo.
But, it gets much more interesting when you get close to it, and shoot from a more unusual perspective — directly beneath. Because we rarely see the underneath of a car (unless you’re a mechanic):
![Rusty muffler. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-PHOTOGRAPHY-KYOTO-COLOR-0138643.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Or get at the bottom of a flight of stairs, and photograph your subject, looking up — for a more dynamic perspective:
![Diagonal photo of Cindy, in Uji Kyoto 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/B2247DD8-F90E-4099-BFA1-FBDE14AE6332.jpeg?resize=1200%2C1812)
3. Get on the ground, and shoot up
![Low angle photograph of kids. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/D356E947-8157-4538-855B-7368B80C067D.jpeg?resize=1200%2C800)
Another idea to make better photos looking up — get on the ground, and shoot looking up with a wide-angle lens, like a 28mm lens.
Or you can put your camera on the ground, and point it upwards, to get a unique low-angle perspective.
![Perspective lines in red. Low angle photograph of kids. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/92B02803-417E-4535-8061-9981A1B18903.jpeg?resize=1200%2C800)
![Bodies of boys in different colors. Perspective lines in red. Low angle photograph of kids. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/41149A3D-3337-4DE9-A1A1-DEAC232ED217.jpeg?resize=1200%2C800)
![Bodies of boys in different colors. Perspective lines in white. Low angle photograph of kids. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/7EEF9962-3F4C-4E83-826B-0951576D5074.jpeg?resize=1200%2C800)
![Bodies of boys in different colors. Low angle photograph of kids. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ABD894B4-C0C7-4404-989D-5B346B84CD0D.jpeg?resize=1200%2C800)
4. Crouch down low
![Crouching low, and shooting up -- which connects the diagonal lines on top to his head, making a more interesting photo. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-KYOTO-PHOTOGRAPHY-2017-0139982.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
Or you don’t have to get super low — just crouch down, and shoot up. This will help simplify your background, and make your subject look ‘larger than life’.
![Crouching down, shooting a street portrait of this man. Kyoto, 2017 // Ricoh GR II x 28mm](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-KYOTO-PHOTOGRAPHY-2017-0139989.jpg?resize=1200%2C1812)
5. Diagonals while looking up
![Looking up, diagonal composition. Traffic light. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-COLOR-KYOTO-STREET-PHOTOGRAPHY-0137939.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
If you look up, shoot from a diagonal composition, to create a more dynamic composition.
6. What does the ceiling look like?
![Ceiling clouds. New York Public Library. Pentax 645Z](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/08B811E6-6052-469B-9607-EC9D22A2401B.jpeg?resize=1200%2C900)
When we go into buildings or admire architecture — unless we are in Rome, we rarely look at the ceilings.
![Poetry, painting, music, sculpture, architecture. Library of Congress ceiling](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/007DD8EC-857D-4C59-A2B2-B71AC4FADB64.jpeg?resize=1200%2C900)
Look at the ceilings– appreciate the decoration of the roof, and study the materials. Also by not looking up, you often over-look beautiful artwork on the ceiling.
7. Do we know what that looks from underneath?
The nice thing about looking up — you find more subjects and objects to photograph, and you get a unique view– because most of us don’t know what ordinary things look like from low angles.
![Peeling paint on ceiling. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-KYOTO-CHROMA-2017-0139351.jpg?resize=1200%2C795)
![Blue abstract. Kyoto, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ERIC-KIM-KYOTO-CHROMA-2017-0139112.jpg?resize=1200%2C1812)
8. Leading lines
![Portrait of Cindy, shot from a super-low angle with 28mm on RICOH GR II. Uji, Kyoto 2017. Note the leading lines in the top of the frame.](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ERIC-KIM-PHOTOGRAPHY-KYOTO-0135413.jpg?resize=1200%2C1812)
If you want to make better compositions with leading lines, by looking up, and by getting super low, you can get lines/lights on the ceiling point to your subject.
9. Interesting architectural details
Another tip: If you’re going to shoot while looking up, fill the frame.
![Bangkok x FUJIFILM GFX](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/eric-kim-bangkok-street-photography-fujifilm-gfx-color-7360.jpg?resize=1200%2C900)
10. Silhouettes
![Silhouette of basketball hoop. Shot looking up, -1 exposure compensation. Bangkok, 2017](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/eric-kim-street-photography-x100f-fujifilm-7204.jpg?resize=1000%2C1500)
Shoot with -1 or -2 exposure compensation, for dramatic silhouettes shot from a low-angle perspective.
Photography Techniques
![Red dot overlapped with man in suit. London tube, by Eric Kim](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/432A56F0-3200-4577-94CF-AA65B3D62FDC.jpeg?resize=1200%2C1809)
- Street Photography Technique: Overlap
- The Fishing Technique in Street Photography
- The “Bookend” Technique in Street Photography
STREET NOTES.
![STREET NOTES MOBILE EDITION x RICOH GR II](https://i0.wp.com/erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Street-Notes-Mobile-Edition-Product-Photos-1110376-800x535.jpg?resize=800%2C535)
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LEARN FROM THE MASTERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
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