Camera angles

Stand at the side of a straight Karoo road and photograph it at eye level, and the result can look surprisingly flat. Crouch low with a wide-angle lens, let the road’s edges race away towards the horizon, and the same scene suddenly has depth and drama. The difference is perspective. Understanding how it works can solve two of the most common complaints in photography: images that look flat and images that lack impact. This guide covers the meaning of perspective, the techniques behind it and how to apply them to different subjects.

What is perspective in photography? The meaning of perspective

What is perspective?

TAMRON 17-50mm F4 (Model A068) Focal length: 17mm　Exposure: F6.3　Shutter Speed: 1/25sec　ISO: 100

The meaning of perspective in photography is the sense of depth and distance created by the relative size and position of objects in the frame, and by their distance from the background. So what is sense of depth? It is the impression that a flat photograph extends back into

Point a camera at something and press record, and you have footage. Decide how that camera moves, where it sits and when it stays still, and you start to have a story. That difference is camera work, and it is what separates video that simply documents a moment from video that makes people feel something. This guide walks through camera work from first principles to more cinematic camera work techniques, with plenty of practical examples along the way. Whether you are filming a family holiday, a promo for a small business or your first short film, the same principles apply, and none of them require expensive gear to get started.

What is camera work? The meaning behind the moves

At its simplest, camera work describes how you position, angle and move the camera while you film. It covers the static shot as much as the sweeping one, because choosing to hold still is as much a decision as choosing to move. Understanding the meaning of camera work starts with recognising that every placement

Pick up a camera and the possibilities are endless: a braai spread at sunset, waves breaking along the coast, the family dog dozing on the stoep. In photography, everything you point your lens at is called a subject. This guide explains what a subject in photography is, clears up some commonly confused terms and shares practical ways to bring out the best in whatever you photograph, including how to match your lens to the subject.

What is a subject in photography?

What is a subject?

TAMRON 28-75mm F2.8 G2 (Model A063) Focal length: 62mm　Exposure: F5.6　Shutter Speed: 1/125sec　ISO: 200

A subject is anything you photograph. It might be a city skyline, a mountain view, a person, an animal, a plant, a plate of food or a building. Whatever the lens is pointed at becomes the subject of the image.

Choosing a subject, and deciding how to frame it, is one of the main ways a photographer expresses ideas and feelings. Take a strelitzia in a Durban garden: you could fill the frame with its sharp

Photograph the same protea three times: once from above, once at eye level and once from the ground looking up. You will end up with three quite different images, each with its own sense of depth, scale and energy. Camera angles and positions cost nothing, yet they change the story a picture tells. This guide explains the main angles and positions, how they differ from a lens’s field of view, how to combine them with composition and how to apply them to popular subjects.

What are camera angles? The three main types

What are camera angles?

A camera angle is the direction in which the lens is tilted when you take a picture. Pointing it down, holding it level or tilting it up can change the impression of the same subject dramatically. There are several types of angles, but most photography builds on three: high, horizontal and low.

High-angle photography: looking down

High-angle photography means shooting from above with the camera tilted downwards, and it is ideal for showing scale and layout.

Most people who move up from a phone to an interchangeable-lens camera hit the same wall. The gear is capable, the exposure is fine, and the picture still looks flat. The missing piece is almost always photography composition — the decisions about what goes into the frame, what stays out, and where everything sits once it is in there.

Composition is the cheapest upgrade available to a photographer. It costs nothing, it works with whatever lens is already on the camera, and it improves results faster than any accessory you could buy. This guide covers the five elements that underpin photography composition, the classic patterns worth learning, and how angle, position and distance change a picture entirely.

What Is Photography Composition? The Five Key Elements

Photography composition is the arrangement of your subject and everything around it inside a rectangle. That is all it is. The rectangle is fixed; what you put in it, and where, is entirely your call.

The same thinking runs through