Low Angle
The camera sits below the subject’s eye line and looks up. The subject looks taller and more imposing than in real life, and the sky or ceiling fills more of the background.
How it feels
- Power
- Dominance
- Heroic
- Grandeur
- Threat
- Confidence
When to use it
- A hero or villain’s first entrance
- The moment a character makes a decision or regains their strength
- An adult seen through a child’s eyes
- Showing the scale of a tall building or monument
- Making a product look bold in an ad
In the movies
Citizen Kane 1941
Cinematographer Gregg Toland planned many shots from unusually low positions. The crew built real ceilings on the sets and dug into the floor to lower the lens to floor level.
The Color of Paradise 1999
The father who rules over his family is often shot from a low angle, so he looms larger than he really is.
Not to be confused with
- High Angle
- The opposite. Looking down from above makes the subject look small and weak.
- Worm's Eye
- The extreme version of a low angle. The camera looks up almost vertically from the ground.
- Tilt
- A low angle is where the camera is placed. A tilt up is the camera turning its head upward during the shot.
Prompt
low angle shot
Low angle shot. The camera is placed below the subject's eye line and tilted upward, making the subject appear tall, powerful and dominant against the sky.
Try these combinations
Low angle + dolly in: a hero’s entrance
Low angle shot, slow dolly in, a hero standing on a rooftop at dusk, wind in the coat
Low angle + close-up: a villain’s threat
Low angle close-up of a villain looking down at the camera, harsh top light, dark background