Wildlife Photography Power Move: The Magic of Proper Camera Height
Are you ready to take your wildlife photos from snapshots to artwork?
One of the most effective ways to do so is to fully understand the power of effective camera height and how it affects the mood and feel of the photo. Shooting from above eye level, below eye level, and at eye level significantly impacts how the viewer perceives the subject. Not understanding exactly what those impacts are can sabotage any chance you have of creating more compelling, artistic wildlife images.
In this video, we'll explore exactly what happens when you use a higher, lower, or eye-level perspective (an example in the middle of the video will instantly make you a believer). We'll also cover some field techniques that'll make it easy.
Check it out: this video might change the way you shoot forever!
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Excellent tips, Steve! As you said at the beginning of the video, we’ve heard others talk about camera height before, but the depth you go into and the examples you show really help drive the point home.
I love how Steve highlights the risk of a predator rather than dropping the rig in the drink. 😅
LOL, doesn't even cross my mind. Although one time I dipped a little too low and when I pointed the lens down, water came out of the hood :)
Heading to Okavango Delta in September and have had some nightmares regarding this exact potential scenario 😳
This channel is one of, if not the, very best at providing easily understandable and digestible training. I spent 10+ years as an instructor in the Canadian military. My objective was that everyone in a class passed with the required knowledge and ability to perform at the level needed. If you wish to confirm this, pick a subject from the wide variety of subject-specific training. Watch it a couple of times and practice as needed and you will be able to do what this instructor has taught. Period, end of story!
This video was sponsored by knee surgeons. 😂 Always interesting advice Steve. Many times, people could do this, but just don't think of it as important at the time. I had some relatives thinking it was a little strange how low I was positioning the camera when photographing a kids birthday party, but the resulting photos of the kids at their level or below turned out really good and it was like the viewer was joining in the fun with the kids rather than an adult looking down at it.
Excellent tips and nicely explained. Thanks Steve.
Love your videos, they always teach me something
Great information provided in a Straightforward manner. Keep making these informative videos!
Very helpful tips and I love the way you illustrate what you mean. Just need to try and remember all this now!
I think you are the first photographer to explain effective angle. Distance can be your friend. As I age kneeling isn’t as easy anymore. Using distance and terrain to help get or appear to get level really helps.
Oh yeah! I can get down, but getting back up isn't as easy as it once was! This reminds me of something that happened to me several years ago (when I insisted on "eye level"). A friend and I were photographing fishing river otters. I was on the ground to get "eye level". My friend remained standing. Suddenly, two otters came up out of the water. One had the head of a big trout in it's mouth, and the other had the tail of the same fish! We both shot away! My autofocus caught on a small blade of grass that I hadn't noticed, resulting in a burst of blurry images, while my friend got all the action in perfect focus! He teases me about that to this day! Being at eye level isn't always a good thing!
As always…you are right on target! Great info! Thanks for taking me along!
This is good. I found that shooting birds from above can provide a novel experience for the viewer and doesn't always project domination
As I mentioned with that tip, there are always exceptions. :)
7:35 so glad you mentioned that, it seems each day that passes gets me closer and closer to that problem
Hi Steve, although I rarely shoot wildlife I enjoy watching your videos, because you stick to the subject and don’t bother your audience with lots of uhs and uhms like many other youtubers, who seem to think, the best way to make a youtube video is all spontaneous, in short: You are prepared! But as much as I understand one could get carried away talking about stuff he is deeply connected to, I think many non-native English speakers like me would enjoy your videos even more, if you could post a little sheet of paper in your recording studio: “Slow down a little”. 😉
Thanks Steve - excellent perspective ! I usually accomplish this technique by happenstance rather than intentionally - looking forward to experimenting with it.
Steve, Always waiting for your great videos. This one is no different. Thanks
I found all these tips also helpful for children's photography.
Great tips, thanks Steve!
Steve another GREAT video.. THANKS..
Steve, thanks for another excellent video. I watched this yesterday and it finally got me moving to try lower shots of the backyard wildlife yesterday evening. I sat in a chair in the backyard and mounted my camera and telephoto lens on a desktop tripod with a gimbal, camera and lens were about 8-10 inches off the ground. I typically was shooting just a little down on the subjects (squirrels, deer and foxes), but the low focus shots came out very nice. I missed more than usual, but mixed in were some very nice shots that I would not have gotten without following your recommendations. As always, your videos are excellent. Please keep up the wonderful work. Take care.
Great tips, Steve. I like your straightforward style to explain the subject you are talking about. Thank you!
As always, another great Steve Perry Video. One always walks away with a few more tips & tricks in their toolkit, thanks again. - Jeff
Great video. Thanks for sharing :)
This was very nicely explained. Will have to remember them next time the opportunity presents itself!
Great stuff/tips as always.
Excellent information Steve! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Steve! Love it! …. Getting up from those low positions is getting harder as I get older 😊 Best wishes
Thanks Steve! Great information.
Great tips! Thanks! As far as I know, this topic has not been covered by other wildlife photographers to such a detail here on youtube.
Great video as usual Steve. Gave me some things to look out for before pressing that button.
Beautiful sample photos, Steve. The subjects, compositions, colours, exposures, shooting angles and framings are excellent. Thanks for posting this helpful advice. 👍😎🇳🇿
I really like your technique for capturing an animal that is downhill from your location. Having an LCD screen that tilts and pivots is especially helpful for those of us whose knees don’t work as well as they did when we were younger!😅
or as an alternative carry some knee pads or a matt strapped to your bag
Thanks so much for sharing another wonderful video like always Steve and very useful information 🐦👍🤗
Great information. It's very helpful to see your comparisons of the different vantage points. Just wish I had this before I reached my mid 70s. 🙂
Steve, as usual the information and its presentation is exemplary! I have never watched one of your instructional or informational videos where I failed to learn or improve on my personal shooting techniques. I'm sure I can speak for many others when I say...thank you!
Thanks so much! This was insightful -- I'm very much an amateur photographer who has a hard time, despite years of trying otherwise, of keeping all the technical aspects straight (so many numbers!), but these tips here I can remember and easily grasp. I appreciate it!
this is excellent, Steve.and so is your Auto Focus E book. Thank you for your teachings.
Thank for tips.
I love shooting from at eye level last time I shot from above was a rapidly approaching fox that had me constantly moving backwards to maintain minimum focus distance.
Great video showing the difference in camera height makes , years ago I heard a member of our camera club remark "Its no good the B judge saying use a low view point if you can not get up again" , but you showed alternatives to having this problem.
Good Advice . . Thank You !
Great video. My issue is more commonly I'm too short to look over long grass /fences etc to see the animals! But good ideas to try out
Wonderful sir ❤️
I did this shooting butterflies and the results were great! The below eye and eye-to-eye levels had a much better reaction than the above subject.
Tank you Steve ;)
yup, getting back up is becoming a bigger and bigger part of the equation.
Great video..
Love these tips!
Great tips, thank you. And that bull at 10:25. Outstanding.
very useful
As they say, a picture says a thousand words 😊 Not sure the slides the slides with loads of text adds anything, and if anything detracts. As always, practical and informative. Many thanks.
The slides pretty much just echo what I'm saying in the video, but sometimes people like to pause them and grab a screenshot for later reference. Like you say, probably no big deal one way or another.
Awesome tips. I really like your "focus" on photos over gear, which is all too rare on KZhead. I also found your books on wildlife photography and bird in flight extremely helpful. Keep up the good work.
Thanks :) I prefer these kinds of topics to gear videos too. Techniques like this are really what make a difference, far more so than the brand of camera or lens you have. However, vides like this also struggle to get the same number of views, so I don't do as many as I'd like.
@@backcountrygallery I hadn't realized there was such a difference in viewership rates. I saw a video recently where the presenter compiled statistics on the winners of a world wildlife photo competition, and pointed out just how of them were created with "late model" gear, presumably because there is a learning curve that takes years to master, especially for amateurs. Having replaced my gear last year, I now tend to skip videos that are clearly hardware-related, since I'm still climbing that curve :)
@@wellingtoncrescent2480 I mean, there are always exceptions, but as a rule my gear-related vides get a lot more views than my more artistic / compositional oriented ones. The technique videos - using the gear kind of stuff - are a wildcard. Sometimes they go nuts, other times they fizzle. So, I do a variety :)
@@backcountrygallery Curious. Speaking of gear, when I was getting back into photography a few years ago, I bought your "Stunning Wildlife Photography" (2015) and later "Stunning Birds In Flight" (2021). Both are lovely, and I consult them often. The more recent touched on mirrorless cameras, but I hope there will be an update at some point, as it's been such a profound change. Thanks.
@@wellingtoncrescent2480 Thanks for the purchases :) I have done an update to the BIF book to include more about mirrorless. The update was 3-15-2023 and I did add some additional material. Not sure if you have that update, but you can get it from the My Account area: bcgwebstore.com/my-account/ (you'll have to log in, of course). As for the wildlife book, I'm probably going to do a second edition, so no more updates to the first version. It'll be a complete re-write if I do it. However, I'm also thinking of doing more specific-topic books instead. It started with the BIF book and I'm currently working on a book that will cover the artistic aspects of wildlife photography. Then one on filed techniques and another on gear - at least that's the idea :)
Lol…getting low isn’t the problem, getting back up is…I feel that pain!
A technique I used a lot on safari in Kenya earlier this year was dropping the camera out of the vehicle down to near ground level using a monopod, sighting with tipped back screen, using eye AF to focus and operating with remote. Worked well with 70-200 lens and definitely raised my Safari photos to the next level. Using a monopod upside down to get camera low to the ground is also something that a person with mobility limitations can use to get the camera low angle from a standing position. Just make sure it is a sturdy monopod. Mine fell apart on the last day of Safari with camera and lens dropping to the ground, but lucky that was only from less than a foot and no damage was done to either.
I've heard of this technique before but haven't had a chance to try it. It sounds like you had some good success with it. I'm definitely packing a monopod for my next Africa trip :)
@@backcountrygallery definitely any photographer going on safari I would recommend taking a monopod for this purpose. On my recent safari, I had the other two photographers in my vehicle trying to do the same by the third day, as I was getting so much better results
@@Jonathantuba Awesome, I'll give it a try for sure :)
Nice vid and great tips. Like when shooting humans - many subjects need to be shot when the camera/lens is level with the top lip. Shooting from lower adds power to the subject. Agree 100% - shooting from higher diminishes the subject -- one is looking down on the subject AND this is often "wrong". When shooting a large male lion at say 30-40m from a Safari Vehicle with 600mm on a FX body one is "effectively" at eye level not significantly higher. That said we try to position the vehicle as low relative to the subject as we can. Shooting across water "has to be" at water level or as close as it is safe to be to this. I was at the Talek River Hippo Pool protected by a fallen tree and rocks from a large pod of hippos and it made a great sequence of shots. I would not have laid down on a beech in east access to the hippos and their irritations. Most 0f my shot on the Chobe river were taken sitting in the boat not using the CNP/Pangolin chairs, which were much higher. David Yarrow has made "disposable D810" in cages a trick for many of his books/images. I thoroughly recommend using Ground Pods and Panning plates to get ultra low while not resting your lens on the ground/water.
Hi Steve! Can you suggest me a beginer kit bellow 2500 dollars? Also because I have a limited budget I will have this kit for at least 5-6 years. Your work is the best!
Great Video, Steve. Also do you have a date when the Z9 guide with 4.0 will be available? Thank you.
My travel schedule has been nuts, but I'm working on it now. The section for Auto Capture is huge (like 6000 ~ 7000 words) plus there's quite a few other additions and I'm doing some reorganizing of the button setup chapter (no small task either). I figure I'm about halfway through it at the moment, hoping to have it done in the next week or two.
Thank you so much for the quick replyI know it is going to be a huge update. Steve. @@backcountrygallery
Would you be able to make a video on tips and tricks for taking photos of wildlife with the Live view on a DSLR? Whenever I go to the ground with the screen I'm struggling with the autofocus. I use BBAF and I can't tell if it does anything or not, it kind of does what it wants. (I have your autofocus book but I might not have reached this chapter yet if you cover this subject in it.)
The problem with most DSLRs is that they use contrast detect AF for live view. It's slow and prone to misses when trying to go after an animal - especially one that's moving. It's not that you can't use it, it's just that it's best with easy targets that are more or less holding still.
My mind was blown when I saw that Piper Mackay outfits her Land Rovers in Kenya with built-in beanbags on the windows and has one door removed so one photographer can get down on his belly. When I was in Africa we always shot out of the top of the vehicle, with the expected grass stubble right behind the animal or bird.
Steve - all of your videos (and images!) are incredibly good. I really like the sharpening you did in the images for this video. Care to share your technique?
I did back in 2013 :) kzhead.info/sun/gq2xl7eSjWmig5E/bejne.html It's an oldie but a goodie - I still use that technique.
@@backcountrygallery I saw that video but since it was so old, I figured you would have a new technique nowadays. I watched the video and tried it out and you're right, it works great! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Thanks for taking the time to respond...
Great tips. A side note: I like the eye level, but the idea that the first one is dominating is a pretty curious read. When I look at a dog I don't feel like I am dominating him/her. The little gut looks natural, and I have the impression that I am with him/her and makes me feel I am living the experience. The eye level for small creatures creates a totally different experience and I favor it because of that, it's novel for the viewer. The ready from above = dominating comes from misandrist interpretations. that everything men do is about power.
I donno. Everything I can find about composition seems to agree with my statements.
Very helpful! I saw a picture that was taken with the a7iv. Did you buy this camera?😀
I did and really like it. For years I've thought that 30MP was a sweet spot for wildlife, so when Sony produced it, I felt is had to get it :) Also, the shot was the howler monkey - and did you see the ISO? 12,800. That shot happened fast and I wasn't prepared for it - I should have lowered my shutter speed for a lower ISO - BUT between the camera's ISO abilities and Lightroom's Denoise feature, it seriously looks like ISO 100 on my screen!
@@backcountrygalleryThis is so reassuring as an a7iv shooter myself and yes it’s a stellar of a camera for it’s price. I was thinking of upgrading from the a7iv to z8 and 180-600 what’s your opinion? Stick to a7iv or go for the upgrade for the 4K 120 and 20fps
@@backcountrygallery Do you think the 10 fps are enough? And also do you think that the canon r10(15 fps, 24mp, decent buffer and good af performance) with the tamron 150 600 is a good combo? Do you have someting else to recommend? Keep creating amazing things and you have a lot of fans from Greece! Cheers Nick!
@@user-th7sv9xh1b I'm always happy to have a faster frame rate and I do prefer 15 or 20. There are often expressions, wing positions, or even poses that are just a touch better from one frame to the next and 20 FPS gives us twice as many chances. Still, for the price, the A74 does a great job IMO and we've had plenty of keepers with it. I still shoot the a1 a heck of a lot more, but I am surprised at how much I like the A74. I've never really shot the Tamron 150-600, so I can't say one way or another.
@@Manjunath_Murthy The Z8 and 180-600 is a fantastic combo and I'd say it's a few notches above the A74. The A74 is great considering the price point - but to be fair you're comparing it to the next class of camera with the Z8, so the Z8 has the edge for sure IMO. A better comparison is the a1 and the 200-600 (neck and neck with the Z8, depending on your priorities).
👍👍👍
I like your point Steve, well done. Tom KC3QAC
Thanks Steve!
Nothing new here
You speak too fast