Camera angles and Viewpoints

Different camera angles and view points help to create a sequence of images which can provoke and give off the meaning of a sentence or story as words would do.

Camera angles -

Camera angles help see the subject of your photograph in different ways, they range from shots taken at birds-eye views to low angles, looking up at the subject. More extreme angles can also make the person feel a certain way, expressing certain emotions within the photograph.

The different categories of camera angles –

1. Birds-eye view 
2. High angle
3. Eye level
4. Low angle

I will explain each category in detail as well as giving example of the type of camera angle used as well as what each camera angle can provoke.

Birds-eye view –

Birds-eye view shots help show a scene or your subject from a directly overhead position. The angle is unnatural and strange because familiar objects or subjects viewed from this angle can seem completely unrecognisable and is usually used when looking down onto a cityscape or land scape.

An angle like this, does however put the viewer in a ‘god-like’ position, what I mean by this is that the viewer is now looking down on the contents of the photograph, as if they’re from a higher position. On the other side of the scale, people are made to look insignificant and a lot smaller when taking into account the whole picture.

High angle –

These shots are not as extreme as a birds-eye shot but the camera is still elevated above the subject you wish to take a photograph of. Things such as cranes or gaining a vantage point are used to create this kind of shot as the higher angle makes the object photographed seem smaller. People photographed in this way are seen as less significant and in some cases scary compared to the birds-eye view angle.

Objects or subjects in the photograph often get mixed up with the setting and scenery around though, ultimately becoming part of the larger picture.

Eye Level –

Eye level shots are increasingly neutral. The camera is now positioned as it is the viewer actually viewing the scene as a person. Camera’s used to create eye level shots are placed at five to six feet above the ground and usually involve the subjects head on the same level with the focus in the case of taking photographs of a person.

Low angle –

A low angle gives a sense of height to the subject, it makes smaller people look taller and gives a speeded motion to the subject. These low angles also help to create a sense of confusion to the viewer, the viewer is able to feel powerlessness as action is caught in the scene.

Low angles also lack detail of the setting which only adds to the disorientation of the viewer when of the sky or ceiling of a room. Objects may seem as if they provoke the thought of fear when the viewer is psychologically dominated by the subject in the shot taken.

View points -

View points can be broken into 5 different categories, each measuring how close to how far your subject is in relation to the distance of where the image is taken. This takes into account the amount of zoom used.

These categories are:

1. Extreme long shots
2. Long shot
3. Medium shot
4. Close-Up 
5. Extreme Close-Up

In this post, I will be explaining what each type of viewpoint is and what their uses are as well as provide examples of each type of viewpoint.

Extreme long shots –

Extreme long shots are pretty explanatory, they’re shots taken from really far away in their simplest term. Shots like these though are usually used for scene-setting and to establish a shot, they can also be taken from as much as a ¼ of a mile away.

These types of shots are often used in showing the exterior of your subject. Things like buildings from the outside and landscapes are often captured using extremely long shot to capture it all.

Detail is not entirely visible in the shot but is used to give a general impression. Specific information represented in a photograph should be reserved for shots taken at a smaller distance.

Long shot –

The gap between a medium shot and extremely long shot is hard to pin point but the generally accepted way of determining which is a long shot or not is if the image shows its subject in its entirety but at a distance everything looks ‘life’ size.

Full shots of the human body where the head reaches the top of the frame and feet near the bottom is the best way to understand this. You focus on the details more than what you would be able to in an extremely long shot but not so much as a medium or close-up shot.

Not all focus is on the subject though, the background still appears apparent throughout long range shots with no focus being made predominately on the subject at hand.

Medium shot –

A medium shot features your subject, generally a person, from the knees or waist and upwards. These type of shots begin to show some detail of actions as well as focus more on the person now instead of the whole picture.

Anything with more than three figures is considered a long shot because of the detail within the picture. Three figures give too much to look at all at once to be considered a medium shot and also makes the background more apparent and relevant in the photograph.

Medium shots have variety in how they can be taken, a popular way of taking these shots is by using a technique called “over the shoulder”, these shots feature a camera behind one figure which in turn reveals another figure but also the first figures back, head and shoulder. This is common in actions shots as well as planning to shoot a scene for a film or television program.

Close-Up –

The recurring theme with these different viewpoints is that the background and its detail decreases as you get closer towards the subject. In close up shots, the background is near enough gone and the main focus is now the object or subjects face.

Everything around your subject or object should be a blur in the background to make this shot a close up shot. As well as this, close up shots magnify the subject, they make it look bigger than it actually is and shows off the importance of whatever you’re photographing.

Close-up shots take you into the mind of a character and usually feature the face of someone, these shots are intimate and make the viewer feel comfortable but also the capability of the complete opposite.

Extreme Close-Up –

An extreme close up shot features no background at all in the entirety of the image, they magnify beyond what you’d see in reality as well as focus on one specific part of the subject. Faces taken as extreme close up shots for example would only perhaps feature the face or even a single eye of the subject, this is what differentiates what makes a close up shot or extreme close up shot.

Extreme close up shots are artificial and should be used for dramatic effect, because of this, extreme care should be taken when setting up the shot. The tight focus required means that the lighting of the shot should be on point as well as the camera being completely still and preferably on a tripod.

Errors in focal length are commonly made when taking these kinds of photographs as well as camera shake if not using a tripod or steady surface in which to use the camera on.