The Difference Between Horizontal & Vertical

The Difference Between Horizontal & Vertical

One of Tampa Bay's most famous landmarks, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge can produce some of the most dramatic images especially when the sky is alive with color from another beautiful Florida sunset.


Other the skyline of Tampa, Florida, my second favorite subject for a night shot is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Almost every night will yield a totally different result for the bridge sits out in the middle of Tampa Bay and the clouds, colors and reflections are some of the most intense.

Now, when I have taken many of my students from my photography workshops to this location almost all of them will set up with their cameras in a horizontal format. Not that there is anything wrong with that for I myself find that a horizontal format is a good choice. But when it comes to thinking like a stock photographer, if only having one format in my library will effectively cut my potential income in half.

When I am with my students, after I make sure all of them have that killer image, the next question is how many have or will photograph the subject as a vertical? Many will look back at me with a puzzled look and ask why? Take for instance the two images here. One is a horizontal and one is a vertical.



While I personally prefer the horizontal version of this image, just before the color was gone I rotated my camera to photograph a vertical version of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Had I not of done so, I would not of made a stock photo sale.


Just today I was contacted by a local advertising agency. They were in need of an amazing image of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but the placement of where it was to appear in the layout of the brochure by the designer was it had to be a vertical. So they browsed my image library and found several that was just what they were looking for.

Now, if I only had horizontal photographs to show them, they would have not purchased one of my images, thus I would have lost a potential sale. However, by having the forethought and understanding how designers, editors and copywriters use images, that 30 seconds it took to photograph the bridge turned out not only as a sale, but one very happy client. Thats's the difference between horizontal & vertical!

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Robert La Follette
www.robertlafollette.com