How can you make your next shoot stand out? It’s simple. Know how to use your angles! For microstock portfolios, it’s always a good idea to diversify with different angles, since you never know what the client is looking for. Therefore, even having similar content with different angles can generate a sale. Angles are building blocks for the photographer and videographer. To achieve success, you have to know how to use your camera angles. Here’s a list I’ve made for you with my favourite angles. Read on to learn how you can use them for diversifying and experimenting with shots and to turn your files into best sellers.
The high-angleshot
High-angle camera shots look at your subject from a height downwards. You want to make your target appear smaller or weaker. This angle enhances the narrative of your shot by, for example, showing your audience the smallness of a person in a crowd. You can also show a top-down view of a street with people, exemplifying their behaviour. Other famous examples are in movies are battlefield shots. The point is to make the individual less important or weaker, or draw attention to the many and away from the individual.(Link to video example)
The low-angle shot
Similar to the high-angle is the low-angle, but the two couldn’t possibly be more different. They are the exact opposite! Low-angle shots make your subject appear bigger by filming from the bottom looking up. So, when you want to show a story of a person being heroic, or to portray them as daunting, this is the angle to use. Now you know why villains like Darth Vader are filmed from this angle.(Link to video example)
The close-up
Our passport photos and social media profiles, to name a few, are how we are most familiar with close ups. For stock photos and videos, lifestyle close-up shots of people are always in demand, and body parts have also been decent sellers for us too. So, what are closeups? Close-ups are shots from the neck up, in portraits of people, and anything else that shoots or zooms into its subject. The subject is the focal point of attention and the background has little or no influence on the image. Flowers, animals, body parts, and objects are all great options for close ups. Thus, the main point of the closeup is to reveal more details about your subject. Even a background like a single color concentrates accentuation on your subject.(Link to video example)
Medium shot
We call a medium shot is anything shot from the waist up. This is a very common shot on tv and film, and on microstock as well. News anchors use it all the time when broadcasting the news. The difference from the close-up is that the medium shot allows for a background, but still gives adequate focus on facial expressions, which enhance emotional appeal. Other than on news channels, you will see this shot used in candid interviews, and shots of families or groups of people in movies. This shot is best used when you want the background to integrate with your subjects and when you want to display body language in your videos and photos.(Link to video example)
Tilt up and tilt down shots
We define the tilt shot as when the camera stays locked in one position but moves up or down on a vertical plane while filming. Remember how we raise our heads to look up at the sky while staying still? You keep your neck still while moving your head up and down. That’s how your camera works for this shot too. We often use this angle when we want to reveal information gradually in our videos. For establishing shots, you don’t always want to reveal everything at once. Take, for example, a cityscape. You might choose a slow reveal for increased emotional impact. Another way to use a tilt is by looking down towards the ground, like in crime scenes. You can use this shot to build suspense by slowly tilting the camera up or down towards your subject, depending on how you want to tell your story.(Link to video example)
Dutch angle
Do you like strange looking camera angles? Want to depict a scene of insanity or confusion? Then the dutch angle is for you. Imagine how the world looks when you tilt your head to the side. The primary aim of this angle is to stress disorder and chaos. We often see this angle in horror movies. So use this if your video or photo has lots to do with psychological uneasiness, or if you want to emphasize craziness, confusion. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Just imagine how everything looks when it’s not on an even horizontal plane. Pretty weird, right?(Link to video example)
Wide shot
Like its name, this is a shot covering a broad field of vision. With this shot, you create a relation between the environment and your subjects. We can call them extreme wide shots, panoramas, and establishing shots when they cover an even broader in scope. We often use the panoramic or extreme wide shot for shooting cityscapes, landscape panoramas, and seascapes. Other uses include nature panoramas of all types, large groups of people or objects. In these shots, your background is the subject and star of your photo or video.(Link to video example)
Summary
1) High angle – emphasizes vulnerability, smallness, or for shows crowds and groups instead of an individual
2) Low angle – makes your subject grander than life or daunting
3) Close-up – focuses on facial expressions and features, shows human emotions or objects while highlighting backgrounds
4) Medium shot – mixes your subject with the background, where the background compliments your subject
5) Tilt – gradually reveals information to create suspense
6) Dutch angle – the horizontal plane is askew, creating an atmosphere of craziness or confusion
7) Wide shots – captures a wide field of vision and makes your background the focal point
Conclusion
With these shots and angles, and the many others that exist, your camera skills will sharpen. These angles strengthen parts of your photos and video portfolios. Use the Dutch angle for uneasiness, close-ups for emphasizing emotions, and tilts for build suspense. They are simple enough, so you should make mastering them a priority. The more angles you’ve mastered, the more options you will give the buyers when they search through your stock portfolios. Therefore, keep exploring and experimenting with new angles until you master them, and then you will also see improvements in your stock sales.