Did you know that shooting from below can improve your photography?

All of us photography enthusiasts go around, carrying our camera around our neck or in our hands. Every time we see something interesting, we frame, compose our image and shoot.

The easiest way to do this is to stand still, while pointing the camera at our subject. So most of our photos are taken from our level, at eye level. This is the easiest way to take pictures and it doesn't require any effort. But have you noticed that all your images are taken from the same layer, don't you feel the need for some change?

Shooting from a low angle has many advantages and helps composition enormously. If you find that your images aren't interesting enough, then changing the perspective and shooting from below will help, without making the subject more interesting.

In this article, I'll give you some tips on how to shoot from below and explain why you should give it a try.

What is low angle view?

Normally, most of the images we take and see are taken at eye level. As I explained at the beginning, it is easier and more effortless for us to stand still and photograph from a normal standing position.

But, as with most things, the easiest way isn't always the best.

With a shot from below, the photographer changes his usual perspective. Instead of shooting at normal adult height, it ducks and shoots from below looking up.

You could define the low angle, the perspective of the "frog". In contrast to this style is the bird view, which describes a point of view far above the usual perspective.

When I describe the low angle, I'm not talking about a little lower level than usual, for example shooting from the hip , but I mean that you should crouch and shoot from the ground.

You can either lay the camera down and shoot using a tilting screen, you'd have to do it blind with a camera without a tilting screen, or you could just lay down on the floor and frame your picture using the viewfinder. Whichever you prefer is up to you and your technical possibilities, but I hope you realize now that low angle shots require more effort. In return, though, you get some very unique perspectives that others don't get.

The low angle shot is also accompanied by a wide angle lens. A long lens would destroy the purpose of sagging and not have the same effect. So anything under 50mm emphasizes this perspective shift.

How does the low angle help?

Shooting from a low angle can be a little more tiring and requires you to put a little more effort into the way you shoot. So is this extra energy you invest in these images really worth it?

There are many reasons why you should try low angle photography yourself, and here are some ways it can help your photography.

The low angle creates interest

Most of the images we see are taken from eye level. That's not to say those images are automatically boring. There may be good reasons to only shoot from that height. But if you change it up a bit, just a different perspective can be more interesting in itself.

You probably never do, and having the camera do it for you allows you to see things from new perspectives, which you only last saw when you were a kid.

With this change alone, it is as if you see a different dimension and the world appears totally new to us. As adults, it's just interesting for us to witness this perspective again. In our normal life, we wouldn't really have the opportunity to see from such a low angle and through photographs we can find out what the world looks like, from a different perspective.

Better wallpaper

Not only in the mind of a viewer, the low angle view has some advantages. Even from a more technical point of view, the low angle can benefit the image.

In street photography, we are often faced with the problem that the background is not exactly great, especially when shooting in the city. There are so many objects that just draw attention away from the subject and create an unsightly image.

Other people might be in the background, cars might get into the frame, or the walls of buildings just don't fit the subject.

Of course there are some tricks to improve the background , for example, we can always walk and shoot against walls, creating a smaller space, which allows us to control the background a little better.

Or we can just shoot from a very low angle and use the sky as a natural background. In cities, this has the advantage that we can ignore our surroundings. This means that no matter how chaotic the environment you're photographing in, you'll always find a pleasant background in a simple sky.

Main lines

There are many compositional elements that you can use to guide the eye of the viewer and guidelines are one of them.

By ducking down, you can use the guidelines in a very different way and in case you have suitable elements, which lead to the subject, ducking down can also enhance this effect.

While it's an overused argument, footage from an escalator shows exactly that. You are at a lower level, while the person is somewhere above you and the handrails lead to the subject.

This is a simple example of how a low angle shot is even better when you have the right guidelines.

People's reactions

If you're on the street and don't really find interesting topics, you can simply provoke reactions by ducking.

People are quite curious as to why you're basically crouching down and working with your camera. Most people can't imagine what you are doing and this can make for some fun interactions.

Looking at your photos after this experiment, you will probably find many people passing by, who have a very severe look. You might not even notice them when you're just crouched, but from my experience, there are a lot of people who walk by and they have a very unique look.

Low-angle shots in street photography

In street photography, there are several ways you can use low angle shooting. Although I too was very hesitant at first, because it might attract a little more attention, I have become quite confident and want to show you how to do it with some examples on the street.

The bending over

You don't have to stop completely and crouch down to get a low-angle shot. You can also move around and when you see an interesting subject, you can get closer and just lean over, maybe even a little sideways.

The advantage is that you are very mobile with this technique. Instead of having to wait for the subject to enter, you are able to move around and look for interesting situations.

It may seem a little strange and requires a little daring, but this belongs in Street Photography. To get amazing pictures, you need to be an amazing photographer yourself and that means pushing your comfort zone and getting closer.

Check out the work of Bruce Gilden, who has this technique ingrained into him like it's his second skin. He sees an interesting subject, gets up close and then walks up to the side of the person and takes a picture from a lower angle as he leans over.

Crouch and wait

Let's say you've found a nice spot and, the background is great, the light is ideal, and you just want one person to enter the frame. Maybe you just want to photograph a silhouette and the subject doesn't really matter.

So you can also take a slower approach by just crouching down on the road and waiting. I know this may sound a little strange and might cost you some nerves at first because who the hell just hunker down in an open road and wait for something.

But in the end it's about the photo and not about yourself. Whenever I feel uncomfortable, I simply look through the viewfinder and am able to completely forget my surroundings.

Whether people around me become curious, or even look at me creepily, doesn't matter to me because I am completely excluded from that environment. All I'm focusing on now is the next image and if I get it, I'll know it was worth it.

For this type of photography, a camera with a tilting screen can be useful, so you can really put the camera down on the floor. If you don't have that type of camera, you can also shoot blind with a wide angle lens.

Sometimes, it can also be helpful to simply put the camera on the ground and control it with an external app from your mobile phone. This way, you don't raise too many suspicions and you can shoot more serenely.

In this clip you can see Thomas Leuthard around the minute 1:30 using this technique, where he sees a beautiful light situation, frames the picture and takes his time waiting for a suitable subject.

The fish eye perspective

You can also take the low angle to extremes. While I've never tried this technique myself, you can get creative using a fisheye lens for street photography.

The lens is supposed to be shorter than 8mm and then you can pretty much reach down and capture images, which are pretty amazing. With strong distortion, you can create more abstract images or just seek out subjects.

Whether you want to take the Bruce Gilden approach and want to be more mobile, or want to wait a little longer is up to you.

Bottom-up photography tips

Now you want to try shooting from below yourself? Optimal. I have prepared for you some tips that will help you improve your shots.

Shoot blind

You don't always have a camera at hand that has a tilting screen and even if you do have such a camera, it would still help to try taking the picture without looking through the viewfinder anyway.

On the street, you have to be very fast and having to look through the viewfinder every time can slow down your photography process a lot. If you're using the technique that Bruce Gilden also uses, then not having to look through the viewfinder is a big plus.

While you may not feel comfortable shooting blind at first, there are a few tips and tricks that make it a lot easier.

A simple tip is to always use a fixed focal length lens with the usual focal length, or simply buy a fixed lens camera. After some experience, you will use the camera as if it were a second skin.

Use a wide angle lens

Another tip for low angle shooting would be to shoot with a wide angle lens. The wide angle lens has some advantages over longer lenses. Therefore anything smaller than 35mm should be your go-to lens for this type of shot.

The wide angle increases the low angle effect. Each person will look bigger, the image will be a little more surreal, and overall the effect will be increased when using a shorter lens.

Another benefit is that framing with a shorter lens is easier. 35mm is very close to our natural field of view and doesn't take long to get used to. This makes it easier to shoot blind and from the ground without having to look through the viewfinder.

The third advantage of the wide angle is that the depth of field is greater. This makes it easier to concentrate, which will be explained in the next topic.

Zone focus

If you want to create great low-angle shots, the easiest way would be to shoot blind. Without seeing through the viewfinder, it will be very difficult to know if the autofocus has found the right spot.

Instead of having to rely on bad autofocus, which will miss most of the time, there is an easier and more guaranteed way to get a sharp image.

This can be done by focusing on the area I will tell you about in more detail in one of my next articles.

Without going into that, you have to use an aperture of f/8 or smaller, a short lens, and you have to manually focus at a distance. Usually, the distance is around 2 meters, but if you want to get as close as Bruce Gilden and shoot from a lower angle, then a distance of 1.5 meters or less should be sufficient.

The combination of the smaller aperture and shorter lens will give you more depth of field, which in turn means that much more of the image will be sharp. This will increase your success rate and attention will no longer be an issue.