I don’t usually like ‘Dutch Tilts’ in photos – when photographers tilt their camera to the side to try to create a more interesting angle for the frame.
The term ‘Dutch Tilt’ is actually incorrect, the correct phrase is ‘Deutsch Tilt’. It was widely used in German cinema of the 1930s – hence the name that became incorrectly anglicised to ‘Dutch Tilt’. It was extensively used in classic films such as The Third Man, the original Batman TV series, and more recent films such as Slumdog Millionaire. All well and good, but it was also used extensively in John Travolta’s Battlefield Earth, often regarded as one of the worst films ever.
My problem refers to still photography. It’s a trick that is overused as a lazy shortcut to try and make dull subjects more interesting. In fact, what actually happens is it makes you feel slightly ill, puzzled as to why the CEO of a anonymous financial institution looks like he’s about to fall over, or why the buildings in the background resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Although sometimes I’ll see an individual example that changes my mind.
Picture by: Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall
Some of the 100 Special K girls in swimsuits on London’s Millennium Bridge to celebrate Special K’s 50th anniversary.
In this picture by Geoff Caddick for Special K on London’s Millennium Bridge last week, the technique is used gently to add emphasis to a great shot. The photographer has produced an image we can ‘read’ from left to right. We see the girls in all their 1950s style glory, with their red bathing suits & parasols. The bridge guides our eye down the line and we keep the sense of location with St Paul’s in the background.
There is almost a comic book simplicity to the shot that means for once the tilt doesn’t seem out of place.
It’s nice to be proved wrong now & again…
Post by Tim Kerr (Director and Picture Editor of PA Photocall)
I’ve never thought of the tilt as a lazy way of doing
things but I suppose you have a point. I like them,
but not too many. The photographer who did my
daughter’s wedding did way too many, it makes a
person a bit dizzy after awhile. It certainly works
well for the Special K girls.
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