Note: Photographers’ Friday is a weekly blog series directed toward professional photographers, and in some instances, serious amateur photographers. All Photographers’ Friday blog posts will assume that readers have a basic working knowledge of digital SLR cameras, but if you’re left with questions or don’t understand any of the information, don’t hesitate to ask. We love e-mails!

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Here’s a little confession: When I got my camera as an eight-year-old (and felt super fancy), I would just snap away. As long as I wasn’t cutting off people’s heads or leaving one side of their face out of the frame, I thought I’d gotten a good angle on my subject. In the years since then, I’ve learned a thing or two, and learned that my assumption was wrong.

While different people will look best from different angles, there are a few rules that I like to remember whenever I’ve got a camera in my hand and a subject in front of me.

1.) For closeups, a good angle for most women is from slightly above and to one side or the other. On most face shapes, it is slimming (not that these ladies needed it!), and looks incredibly feminine and soft.2.) For full-length and half-length portraits, turning a subject sideways is slimming (again, not that these brides, or grooms, needed help in that area), flattering and usually more interesting than only photographing face-on.3.) While some people don’t like their profiles, for others, profile shots are incredibly flattering. Don’t overlook profile portraits, but do recognize that they will not be universally flattering. When they work (like this portrait — love it), they’re a great change of pace.4.) Photographing from below is something we don’t do frequently with women, but that we love to do with men. It adds height, emphasizes strength and power, and just looks generally cool.5.) Remember what I said back in rule number 3, about turning your subject at an angle to the camera? Well, we frequently do that. But sometimes we love to get a perfectly straight-on shot, especially of our grooms. Because they look really cool and masculine as they just stare the camera down. But it can work just as well for our brides; it can impart an extra air of confidence and looks very striking.Keep in mind that not every angle is going to be flattering for every subject — but these are the angles we constantly look for at each session, and tweak to fit each of our subjects. I hope keeping this in mind will be just as helpful for you!

~ Laura