There are times as a photographer that it’s helps to take the camera away from your eye and really look at what is going on around you. When I take photos in a foreign city, or I’m documenting an event, I like to take a good selection of candid shots without holding the camera to my eye – instead shooting from the hip.
There are several benefits to this approach. First, you appear more causal, inconspicuous, and this means you’re able to capture moments you’d likely miss for fear of being rude. Second, your subject, being oblivious to your camera, don’t do the typical camera response, and look away. There’s also the benefit of instantly getting a better perspective. It’s surprising how much better photographs can appear when you change from eye level. And finally, it reintroduces some of the surprise lost with digital photography by not being sure exactly how the image will turn out. Just take lots of photos and look for scenes you can leverage into creative work. (And of course it doesn’t hurt to study the work of masters like Henri Cartier-Bresson).