Objects & groups
PRO

Diagonal Pair: two objects corner to corner

Two things on one diagonal of the frame, so the eye travels corner to corner between them.

What it is

Two objects placed on one diagonal of the frame create a line the eye follows from corner to corner. This avoids the stiff side-by-side look of a pair and uses the whole frame, with the two empty corners balancing the filled ones. Shot straight down, it turns a simple pair into a graphic flat lay where the spacing does the talking. It suits a cup and a saucer, two plates, or any pair that belongs together. Diagonal Pair is one of the guides in Camera Grid Pro.

When to use it

Two coffee cups on a table from above
A plate and a glass, or a plate and cutlery
Two shoes, books or gadgets in a flat lay

How to shoot it

Put the two objects on a flat surface and hold the phone straight down over them.
Camera Grid draws two target circles on one diagonal, a quarter of the way in from opposite corners, fixed in place.
Move the objects or the phone until both filled markers sit in their circles.
Keep the phone flat as the coach asks, and shoot when the ring turns green with a tap.

Common mistakes

Placing the objects so close to the corners that they feel cramped or get cut off.
Tilting the phone, which bends the diagonal and shows the sides of the objects.
Choosing two objects so different in size that the diagonal looks lopsided.

Questions

How do you photograph two objects from above?

Place them on a diagonal, one toward one corner and the other toward the opposite corner, and shoot straight down. Leave space around each so they do not crowd the edges. Camera Grid's Diagonal Pair draws both targets and scores the placement and the angle.

What is the difference between Diagonal Pair and Opposing Vertices?

Both put two objects on a diagonal. Opposing Vertices uses the third crossings and a camera looking down at about 45 degrees. Diagonal Pair is shot straight down, with the targets on the frame's corner-to-corner diagonal. Camera Grid chooses by the angle you hold the phone at.