On the Slant
In most interview situations, you aren’t going to arrange your shot where you are looking at the background straight on. This will make the image flat and uninteresting. You want to create depth by offsetting the camera slightly, allowing the background to recede into the frame.
However, if your background contains a lot of straight lines, like window blinds, door frames, window sills, or bookshelves, your image may look like it’s on a slant although your tripod head is perfectly level. This is simply an optical illusion caused by the placement of the camera in relation to the background. So what can be done about it? The first choice would be to select a location with a different background. However, I understand that this can’t always be done. Sometimes you have to use what you’ve been given. If you can’t change your location…
- Always make sure your subject is level first. Trying to compensate for the background by tilting the tripod head will usually make things worse, because then your subject will look slanted.
- Create more space between the subject and the background. Then zoom in to your subject. Open up your aperture as much as possible. This will throw the background out of focus and will blur the angles in the background.
- Frame out those unwanted straight lines as best as you can. If you can’t, try to find a plant, some books, anything to hide them.
- Try adjusting the angle of the camera in relation to the subject and the background. Creating a steeper angle will force the straight lines to recede more into the background.
As always, some trial and error will occur here as you explore different possibilities. Unfortunately, locations can’t be perfect 100% of the time, but sometimes a slight angle in the background is acceptable. The human eye can make the adjustment if the subject is level and framed appropriately.
