Home Wikituition Browse all terms Categories
Random term
Composition & Visual Design

High Angle

A viewpoint above the subject, looking downward.

Measured in degrees

In depth

Looking down diminishes a subject and can suggest vulnerability or observation, and it replaces the sky with ground, which is usually more detailed. It also compresses a group into a legible arrangement, which is why banquet and crowd photographs are so often made from a balcony.

Examples in practice

A market photographed from an overlooking window resolves a chaotic crowd into a readable pattern of stalls and figures.