Tips for Learning Your Best Camera Angles
Camera technique is as much a part of great camera acting as any of your other acting tools (voice, body, props, backstory, objective beats, creating your reality). Acting on-camera involves understanding how to communicate through pictures.
Let’s start with the basic premise that camera is mostly about pictures. Film is very pictorial. Think of film as a comic book instead of a novel. You look to the pictures first and then to the very few words in the bubble to get a bit more understanding. Knowing how important the visual is on film, it’s important to know how your own face comes across on the camera.
Know your angles.
Get in front of a mirror or, better yet, a camera, and get a very close-up shot (head and shoulders). You can even use your smartphone to record or take still photos. Slowly change directions and angles of your face to see how it reads on-camera. Turn your head slowly from one side to another in each direction. Tilt it from side to side. Bring your chin slowly down and slowly up. Look at your face as if it were a painting to see what makes a more interesting picture. Some angles might make you look harsh. Some may make you look sweet.
We all have a better side to our face for pictures, too. My sister, Morgan Fairchild, is facing the same direction on many of her magazine covers. She also often poses straight ahead with her chin slightly down (I will address why this is a good angle farther along).
Check out your smile.
I bet Brad Pitt knows his best angle for that winning smile he has. Marilyn Monroe totally changed her smile and worked on smiling with the corners of her mouth down instead of up. Yep, that iconic smile was a technique that she mastered. Many of you have a great natural look. I am not saying to plasticize yourself into something you’re not, but you do want to present yourself at your best.
Pay attention to your chin.
This is my favorite tip.
- Chin slightly up makes you appear to be the goofy best friend or second banana. (Chin up too high makes you come off as a snob. Chin up even higher can help you to look maniacal.)
- Chin slightly down is the leading man or woman. When you shoot your headshots, doesn’t the photographer remind you frequently to bring your chin down a little? This causes your eyes to open a bit and allows the light to catch your cheekbones. Every man, woman, and child looks better with the chin slightly down. Remember when I mentioned above that my sister uses that pose for magazines a lot? Now you know why.
- Chin down a bit more will make you look powerful. You would use this angle for bullies or power characters of any kind (including villains as well as powerful action heroes). In audition tapes for bad guys, I constantly tell the actor to bring his chin down more. If you are supposed to do a monologue where your victimized character finally decides to claim her life, try starting with your chin up and, as you get courage, bring your chin down to the power spot.
- Chin down too far makes you look creepy and demonic. I use this angle if someone is auditioning for a demon or has to change into one during the scene. As you change, start with chin up more and slowly bring it down as you morph into the demon.
#1 – Bird’s Eye View
The highest camera angle is “bird’s eye view.” This is when you get up above the scene and look straight down. This angle is great for looking down and seeing all the details of a scene from above.
A bird’s eye view is an unusual angle because you’re not normally up high looking down on a scene. Any angle that is beyond your usual daily experience will make your photo more interesting to look at.
#2 – High Angle
A “high angle” is not quite as extreme as the bird’s eye view. You just need to be a little bit higher than the person or thing that you are photographing.
Think of a high angle as a very normal view of the world for most adults. This is especially true for parents who are always looking down toward their kids.
Even though you experience this angle or perspective a lot throughout the day, it can still be perfect for some of your photos. A high angle is useful for making your subject look smaller or more vulnerable and perhaps making the viewer seem more dominant.
#3 – Face-to-Face
A face-to-face angle is taken at eye level to your subject. This is a very engaging angle and helps to establish a personal connection between the person in your photo and the person viewing it.
This is a great angle for portraits, though a slightly higher than eye level angle is great for portraits too.
#4 – Low Angle
For a low angle, you need to be below eye level. As you get down lower, you make the subject of your photo appear a larger. This may add a larger than life feeling to your photos and is great for emphasizing toughn s, or making things look scary or epic.
#5 – Bug’s Eye View
Also known as “worm’s eye view,” this angle is just like it sounds. You get down as low as you can and look straight up toward your subject.
Again, this is a very unusual angle. You rarely experience this point of view, so it will add an interesting or creative perspective to your photo.
One Scene – Three Angles
It’s a great idea to capture more than one angle every time you take photos of a moment. It will push your creativity, help you to explore new perspectives and provide you with more views to tell the story.
These next photos demonstrate how I captured one scene from three different angles.
Beyond Everyday Perspectives
Knowing these five camera angles, and practicing them will help you get unstuck anytime you’re uninspired or find that your photos are turning out boring or predictable. To spice up your photos, simply choose the most unusual angle. Once you’ve done that try at least two more angles and figure out which one has best captured the moment.
As you experiment with angles you’ll boost your creativity by breaking out of everyday perspectives. Try capturing a few different angles right now. I would love to see your photos in the comment section below.
# Hope you like it.
~YOU MAY ALSO READ -
~top 20 places in india that are perfect
~35 best summer holiday destinations
~best countries to visit in february
~presenting new collections of fashion
0 Comments: