Camera Shooting Angles

Are you confused by a Dutch angle? Struggling between a Neutral and High Angle? Let’s talk about camera shooting angles.

Whenever we talk about the aesthetics of photography, we usually refer to the Composition of an image, which is very important but it’s still a part of it. We also need to consider the shooting angle.

What

But, what is the shooting angle? It’s very simple: it’s how much you tilt or roll the camera on its axis and, depending on this tilt or roll, you’ll find many names for them.

Please note I’m not talking about the kinds of shots, which is a bit different.

Neutral

The first angle you should learn, and probably the one we all start with is the Neutral angle. It’s also called Eye Level angle. With this angle the camera and lens axis are parallel to the ground and we see the image very similar to how we see the world.

High Angle

In this angle, the camera “looks down” to the subject. This is how we usually look at children and pets and, when used in photography, we can make the subject look smaller than it is, both in terms of size and importance.

Low Angle

In this angle, the camera “looks up” to the subject. This is how we usually look at buildings or birds and, when used in photography, we can make the subject look larger than it is, both in terms of size and importance.

Bird’s Eye

Similar to the High Angle, the Bird’s Eye angle looks straight down to the subject giving an unusual perspective to it. It serves to make the subject look smaller but also distant and unreal.

Nadir

Similar to a Low Angle but more extreme, as the camera looks straight up. The effect is that the subject looks not only distant, but unattainable or “God-like”.

Now that you know about the different camera shooting angles, why don’t you try them? Post your images on social media and use the hashtag #alexsilvablog or tag me in your images.

Would you like to add to this post? Leave a comment below!