Bird's-eye View
A viewpoint directly overhead, looking straight down, which renders a scene as a flat pattern.
Measured in
degrees
In depth
Shooting straight down removes the horizon and almost every depth cue, so the picture becomes graphic rather than spatial — shapes, colours and spacing take over from volume and distance. Drones made this viewpoint routinely available, and its main risk is that it flattens everything equally, including the subject.
Examples in practice
A drone directly above a harbour turns moored boats into a pattern of white shapes on dark water.