A great technique in bird and wildlife photography is shooting at eye level. Eye-level shots are often more intimate – they give better subject isolation and are typically more engaging. Libor and Massimo have recently written about how much they love this approach to wildlife photography, and I don’t disagree. But are eye level shots always better? Not necessarily.
Let me start with the positives. When you’ve got the right conditions, shooting wildlife photos right at eye level can produce dreamy and beautiful shots free from distraction. At eye level, the background is far away, and the ground or water melts gracefully in and out of the frame. It can also be possible to include more of the background landscape when shooting at eye level, which is often very cool.
But sometimes there is a danger of applying the eye-level technique too often and too stringently. The dreamy look it offers can be quite beautiful and addictive, but that doesn’t mean other sorts of photos are necessarily worse.
One exception I often find is shooting on the water. If you photograph from a higher vantage point rather than eye level, you are more likely to capture ripples and patterns, or the traces of an animal’s movement. These can be quite beautiful elements, and they add a dynamic sense of environment to the photo.
Of course, even when dealing with water, eye level shots are often beautiful. But constantly gravitating towards their unique boldness risks forgoing the beauty of a slightly higher shot that showcases the movements of water.
Sometimes, eye-level shots might simplify a little too much! If the depth of field is narrow, you may end up removing all context from the image. In such cases, shooting a little above eye-level can provide just enough of the little world inhabited by your subject, resulting in a better sense of place.
Both approaches to wildlife photography are imbued with a different sort of feeling. Certainly, the contrast of an animal against a background of flowing colors is striking. It feels different compared to the juxtaposition of natural patterns and rich texture that is more characteristic of higher-angle shots. But whatever emotions one ascribes to these different styles, they are indeed different, and they are both worth exploring without thinking one is better than the other.
I also think it’s best to think of “eye-level or not” as a continuum. The question is not whether you should get down to eye-level, but how far should you get? Each centimer means a different shot, tells a different story, and brings a different feeling.
There is nothing wrong with eye-level shots. Often, the resulting dreamy outcome agrees with the serenity of being immersed in the animal world. And yes, sometimes higher-levels shots that show more ground just have no sense since they rudely push elements into the viewer’s attention that would otherwise be distant. But, at other times, there is abounding beauty in those higher angles ripe for exploration.
Totally agree with trying shots of water fowl slightly above the subject. I recently got a male and female wood duct cruising along side by side and I shot a little above them and caught the ripples of the water along with both ducks in focus. The ripples made the picture as much as the subjects! Tks Jason.
Thank you very much for the comment, Dave!
Assume photo’s
I think your comment may have gotten lost :(
Outstanding, wonderful, amazing
I appreciate that comment a lot, Joe!
Nicely written, Jason. Just as you write, “Each centimer means a different shot, tells a different story, and brings a different feeling.” And I’ll just add that this is as true in the vertical plane as it is in the horizontal. Sometimes the position of the camera is clearly determined by the nature and complexity of the environment. In other words, there has to be a peephole somewhere to see the bird, right? Sometimes it’s really about trying out what angle works best. When I think about it, shooting near water is a topic that would be worthy of an article. Personally, I like to shoot directly from the water level. However, I’ve had several occasions where I’ve almost ended up below that line with my camera. That’s when I started sliding down a steep slope like a seal on an ice floe. When I shoot more above the surface, like those “structures” on the water, I look for reflexes, anything to justify that I was lazy and didn’t lie down in the mud :-)
Haha, yes Libor, it’s true. It’s very easy to get a little too close to the water and have an … accident. Most of the time I prefer water level as well. What actually prompte this article was a location with some ugly looking backgrounds.
I think this is the thing of photography I love the most: opportunities are endless, there is not good or bad but just a personal way of seeing which suits the subject. Even the perception of what actually the subject is (i.e. the reflection), is a matter of personal view.
Thanks a lot, Massimo! It’s true. Experimentation and variety is endless.
Thank you for the,411. I’m obsessed with photagraphing nature,wildlife,ect,an the “SELFI” all big on my list,also,911 scenes,I happen to encounter. For the record. I happen to have discovered I’m dyslexic,as a 50 so me yr. Old adult,an extremely,I often wonder ,how this has effected,my camera skills .Also new,well fairly new the Internet,my first time2021
I posted a few photos online,1 bieng my “Ray of Suns” series . Hope to come in contact again with you,an am always out THIER photographing, an love others that appreciate the technology we have,at our fingers now,compared to my first camera,a Kodak 110 film sz.my second,what else,The Polaroid,mind you ,my mom was using a Nikon, in the seventies,so I knew what ,a good camera was,just not how to use 1. I also hope to find someone,who could breakdown ,the how ,an what’s ,of the camera,the stuff that is Chinese to me, 😂 lol. Wishing everybody happy hunting,in Chicago,very exciting,we are rolling into fall, an the season change is amazing here,the leaves,an pumpkins,an back to school,an then winter,I’m ready for it. An whT I mean by happy hunting? Getting the good shots!🌞 – Irwin shannon c Clifford 54 CHICAGO ill, addios
Keep photographing nature! Come back soon…
‘capturing the moment’ can take very different approaches. ‘losing the moment’ while attempting to perfect any one composition is, IMO, the riskiest take. especially as it applies to wildlife. a situationally aware photographer can make many approaches work. those forcing the moment to capture eye-on-eye contact — might lose everything. auctor caveat.
If you have a feeling for animal behaviour, it’s clear that some animals will fly or run away while others will let you get down to eye level. I can get down to eye level quickly. The side effect is that my clothes often get full of mud.
One advantage of this kind of shooting is in the autumn, if you can get reflections of autumnal colours in the water.
That is true. It’s one of the best times to try it!
Excellent points and well-timed.
Thank you, Pat.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell what draws you to a certain composition. Reviewing your own photos is important to understanding and improving yourself. “Intuition” is something you build over time!
Our guy instincts our 99.9 % correct,at least one of my mentors from school,in Poland Springs,Maine,told me this,an I must say,I have found it to be true. Who would have think it..