I'm Curious - Portrait vs. Landscape

dalgeri

dalgeri

HipstaWhore... ?
Real Name
Davinia
When taking photos with your iPhone do you shoot in portrait or landscape mode, is there a difference and is one better than the other. I've always shot in portrait mode and never gave much thought to landscape. Maybe I'm missing something?
 
I guess it doesn't really matter to me since I use 6x6 all the time! Even on the rare occasion that I don't use it, I shoot in portrait mode. I think it's just what I'm accustomed to doing.
 
With the iPad I shoot almost always in landscape, Hipstamatic is design for it but Oggl is portrait and if you do use landscape it has no way to rotate it so it I do use in portrait. A lot of the HDR apps are also designed for portrait although most work fine in landscape just the menus and sliders come up in portrait.
 
@dalgeri - An excellent question Davinia and one, as you can see, to which there is no right, or wrong, answer... :D

For me, it depends on two clear factors - the scene/subject being taken and the camera app being used... :rog:

Sometimes these are flexible and others they are inter-dependent! For example, some camera apps are suitable only for one, or the other, whilst some are screen orientation adaptable... ;)

Landscapes, as the name would suggest, are generally best suited to landscape orientation, although I recognise some excellent iMages have been produced in square format, which is possible in either orientation... :)

Whilst portraits, yes you guessed it, as the name suggests, may be best suited to the portrait orientation! Again, many superb portraits turn up in square mode which is suitable for either way up... :confused:

Single handed photography is probably easier in portrait style too but, all things considered, it really boils down to personal preference and your weapons of choice... :D
 
Traditionally cameras were better suited to shooting in landscape orientation and it was held to be a good habit to break away from shooting landscape only and shoot more portrait oriented shots. We now have the opposite situation with the phone but presumably the same practice is still a good one.

Personally I now shoot pretty much evenly in both orientations. When working a scene I will always try both and a number of different compositions for each. It's not like we're wasting film anymore :)

What really cracks me up is portrait video, because that's now become acceptable because of the phone. That use to be a big no-no since video was universally landscape. Thats a good development I think and one of the many things where the normals of visual media are being changed by the phone.

2c

D.
 
Apart from Oggl which I never used anyway and now deleted, I wasn't aware that one had an option to click between the 2. Am I missing something fundamental here? Eeeek
 
dalgeri said:
I've always shot in portrait mode and never gave much thought to landscape. Maybe I'm missing something?
Click to expand...
dalgeri said:
so really it depends on the apps you use and the subject you're shooting and what feels most comfortable I guess.
Click to expand...
@dalgeri - So Davinia, one thing does occur after all this talk... :sneaky:

Having suggested you always shoot in Portrait, plus being the self-confessed and renowned HipstaWhore that you say you are... :rog:

Don't you get some weird results from HipstaWhoring in Portrait... :D
 
Venomator said:
@dalgeri - So Davinia, one thing does occur after all this talk... :sneaky:

Having suggested you always shoot in Portrait, plus being the self-confessed and renowned HipstaWhore that you say you are... :rog:

Don't you get some weird results from HipstaWhoring in Portrait... :D
Click to expand...
Well, frankly my dear (I'm watching Gone With The Wind as I type) I'm not sure how I got the tag of hipsta whore, I just assumed the moderators just picked random descriptions for everyone. Anyway funnily enough I always shoot hipsta in landscape, never even considered portrait for it, but I might give it a try, who knows what weird and wonderful shots I might get.
 
dalgeri said:
Well, frankly my dear (I'm watching Gone With The Wind as I type) I'm not sure how I got the tag of hipsta whore, I just assumed the moderators just picked random descriptions for everyone. Anyway funnily enough I always shoot hipsta in landscape, never even considered portrait for it, but I might give it a try, who knows what weird and wonderful shots I might get.
Click to expand...
@dalgeri - As if the Moderators would be so random Davinia... :whistle:

Never let it be said > > > HipstaWhore

Hence the question mark, I think you'll find my dear... :D
 
docsimsim said:
Apart from Oggl which I never used anyway and now deleted, I wasn't aware that one had an option to click between the 2. Am I missing something fundamental here? Eeeek
Click to expand...

When you shoot with your phone vertically (home button at bottom) that's (sorry, had to correct this!) portrait. When you turn your phone sideways, and the home button is either to the left or right, that's "landscape." And that's all the difference there is. Portrait accenuates the vertical "plum line," landsape accenuates the "horizon line."
 
Last edited:
I shoot in mostly landscape mode for two reasons, one: i just am and always have been attracted to horizontals; I naturally turn my phone sideways to see the world that way...that may be the reason I've never been taken with instagram at all. I'm not fond of the squaring off of images. They just don't look right to me. Jux.com, the free, elegant (and not so nearly as popular) photo site I use (and endorse strongly) actually allows you to display your photos naturally within landscape dimensions, and I'm hoping they never change it.

And, two, the controls make sense to me that way. I find shooting in portrait mode I can never get the sense of where the controls are or are where my hands are supposed to be. In landscape mode the phone becomes a camera (for me) and in portait it simply feels like a phone that takes pictures...a distinct difference in attitude.

In fact, most of the time, the only moments I shoot portrait is when I want to sneak a shot of something or someone and I'm pretending to be texting, or the shot is just so vertical dependent there's no denying it.

What a great question, though.
 
lazaro said:
When you shoot with your phone vertically (home button at bottom) that's (sorry, had to correct this!) portrait.
Click to expand...
Actually, odd as it may feel, the Home button could also be at the Top in your Portrait explanation... :rog:

That's the pedant coming out me... :sneaky:

But good enough way to explain the differences... ;)

However, if you take a Pano iMage you do end up with a Landscape iMage but shot in, using your definition, Portrait... :D
 
Venomator said:
Actually, odd as it may feel, the Home button could also be at the Top in your Portrait explanation... :rog:

That's the pedant coming out me... :sneaky:

But good enough way to explain the differences... ;)

However, if you take a Pano iMage you do end up with a Landscape iMage but shot in, using your definition, Portrait... :D
Click to expand...

Ha! Touché on a technicality, great green one. I'll have to try it.
 
lazaro said:
When you shoot with your phone vertically (home button at bottom) that's (sorry, had to correct this!) portrait. When you turn your phone sideways, and the home button is either to the left or right, that's "landscape." And that's all the difference there is. Portrait accenuates the vertical "plum line," landsape accenuates the "horizon line."
Click to expand...
Yes that's what i thought. I tend to prefer horizontal as well. Vertical is often too constraining unless doing close ups. In Hipsta I tend to mostly do landscape
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom