Viewpoints in Photography (4 Points of View in Photography Composition Perspective)

The viewpoint refers to the position we take the photograph from. Are you laying on the ground, looking up at your subject? Or are you simply standing and looking straight-on at your subject? Whether you’re looking up, down, or straight-on changes the scene dramatically, and changes the way that the viewer interprets the final photograph. A blade of grass can look like a skyscraper, and a skyscraper can look like a tiny little house. It all depends on your point of view!

Here are four options to consider when relating to the viewpoint:

1. Bird’s Eye View

When photographing a subject from above, it is known as a “bird’s-eye view”. This could be taken from up in the sky, such as when flying in a plane, or could simply be taken by standing on a ladder, slightly above your subject. Shooting from this viewpoint means that you are looking down directly onto your subject.

2. Eye Level

When using this viewpoint in photography you aim to get your camera positioned at roughly the eye level of the subject. If you are shooting humans or animals, eye contact is a great way to become connected and you can begin to work on making the subject comfortable with you photographing them.

3. Worm’s Eye View

Photographing from below is referred to as “worm’s-eye view”, as if you were a worm looking up at the world around you. As you can imagine, this makes all subjects look very large, even if they are very small in reality. Subjects presented in this way look as though they hold power over the viewer, and can seem very intimidating.

4. Becoming The Subject

To use this technique, photograph your subject from the point of view of the person interacting with the subject. This type of photographic composition can work particularly well with portraits where you want to create a sense of commonality between the viewer and the subject.

While a lot of beginners probably take the majority of their photographs straight-on, it can be a good idea to start looking at subjects from different angles. While you probably don’t want to be known as “the photographer who always takes photos while lying down on the ground”. Switching up your position every once in a while can lead to very interesting results.

I hope you liked my blog. Do let me know your suggestions and thoughts in the comments section. Thank you!