Photography Tips: Phorographer Shows the Power of Perspective, 5 Angles to Improve Your Photos

By Jonnalyn Cortez| Nov 10, 2015

Canon invited six photographers to take a portrait of a man in different characters. The guy named Michael was presented to each cameraman to tell different stories through the pictures, which came out with very striking results.

According to DIY Photography, Michael was introduced to each photographer separately. He pretended to be a self-made millionaire, a person who saved another person's life, a former inmate, a commercial fisherman, a psychic and finally, a former alcoholic.

The six shutterbugs were given 10 minutes each to do the project and capture "the essence of who he is." They all took the time to know things about Michael first and, evidently, the thoughts they knew about him influenced the outcome of who they think he was.

"A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than by what is in front of it," Canon Australia wrote on their video. The experiment was intentionally designed to shift "creative thinking behind the lens."

The outcome of the photographs led to "thought-provoking" and radically different results. In fact, Bored Panda reported that they all took the photos in one studio and with the same props -- without them knowing.

"A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than what is in front of it," Canon Australia added. The Japanese multinational corporation tried to give a valuable lesson for all of the photographers.

"Never forget how much creative license you have when photographing a subject, no matter how simple it might be!" they said. Moreover, A Plus noted the experiences cameramen went through when they were doing the project.

All of the photographers took portraits of Michael to get the best shot that they could in an interpretation of what they knew about him. Of course, they didn't know that there were several of them working with him.

Hence, when they saw each other's works, they were all amazed how one man looked very differently in six photographs. Canon's social experiment is a great reminder for everyone that we are not only shaping other people's perception of who we are, but it also depends on how they see us and what they thought of us.

Canon's website offers everyone who is interested in taking their Lab Shoot, it is a project of daring photographers to get outside of their comfort zone. "When it comes to photography, there's no end of courses, videos and books that aim to help you develop your technical skills," they wrote.

This is to help the inspiring cameramen to get them "thinking - and shooting - in a different way." Check the video below:

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