High angle shots are typically employed to portray the subject as vulnerable, weak or insignificant in cinema. Literally it achieves the effect of having the viewer of the photo look down on the subject(s).
High angle shots naturally lend themselves to pet photography since our pets are generally way shorter than us. From this angle, pets generally look small and cute because of the bobble head effect.
The dynamic changes and becomes more complex however, with the confident stare if the animal that expects you to do its bidding, her sly peek at you to gauge your reaction when she refuses to do what you asked it to, and her blatant joy looking up at something else besides you. Human, you are just not as interesting as the toy you dangle in front of me.
Here’s a nice sample of high angle shots used in Hitchcock movies and how it diminishes the men in the story.
References
- wikipedia – high angle shot
- mediacollege.com – camera angles
- media know all – camera angles
Cascadian Nomads
Those are some flirty high angle shots! Just lovely.
weliveinaflat
Flirty! Such a good word ;)
Happy Healthy Dog Blog
Great shots, and certainly none of them make her seem “vulnerable, weak or insignificant”, not with that cheeky grin!
weliveinaflat
Indeed, that cheeky grin turns the tables!
Susan C. Willett
I love the expressions on her face!
–Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats
weliveinaflat
Me too! ;)
carmapoodale
Happy you joined the blog hop because this is where I discovered your site. I will definitely be back to learn more about different angles to use with your camera. Love these photos and how happy your subject is in the photos.
Happy Sunday!
weliveinaflat
Welcome! :) Nice to meet you!
Roxy the Traveling Dog
Donna does look a little short there.
weliveinaflat
She’s not short-short but I have seen mongrels with longer legs and a lankier look ;) Alas, guess the lanky model look is not in her genes. Gains wait easily, this one. :P
Ruby
I love the second picture of Donna. The expression on her face is priceless!
weliveinaflat
Ehehehe, bet your own dog has given you similar looks ;)
Dakota/Caren/Cody
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!
weliveinaflat
Thank you :)
Emmadog
Mom likes to do those too, but doing one of those with a treat in her hand is what caused her nose injury, so beware of dogs that jump!
weliveinaflat
Your mom got nose injury from a jumping dog? Sounds bad :( It’s not that dangerous with Donna. The only time I got injured was when she was running after me, and in her excitement she jumped on me from the back and since I was running, I lost balance and pitched forward, scraped my knees a bit. Never have a dog running after you from behind, that’s the lesson I learnt ;)
Marie Symeou
Beautiful shots! You are so cute!
weliveinaflat
Thank you! :)
Mel
I love your film and photography background. I always learn so much. The Hitchcock ones are cool. I don’t think I ever paid attention to the detail that went into his films. I also love the above shots when I can get them. Donna is so darn adorable. That first shot melted my heart!
weliveinaflat
It’s all in the eyes ;) Glad you enjoyed the post!
dorysbackyard
You are the cutest munchkin ever!! I love the way I can make our pups look smaller with a high angle shot, especially if it is in the backyard where I can surround them with the bushes and blooms! Thanks for the marvelous information!
weliveinaflat
No problem and thank you! Yah, I remember your floral pet portraits ;)
Tenacious Little Terrier
I sometimes take photos lying down because otherwise they’re all high angle shots lol.
weliveinaflat
LOL dusty work! ;)
M. K. Clinton
great shots! i love the center one with thy shy smile. ; )
weliveinaflat
Me too! ;)
Chewy the Golden
High angle shots make my head look ginormous! You look like you are expecting some nice cookies.
weliveinaflat
It was a toy ;)
Sonel
You are one cute and adorable munchkin indeed Donna. Great angle shots Mrs. P! :D
weliveinaflat
Thank you! ;)
ThatJenK
Very cute!
Yes, even high angle shots can make Moses and Alma look tiny.
Very interesting Hitchcock link.
Love the second photo – it’s like Donna just told a joke and she’s waiting for you to get it.
weliveinaflat
The human is oblivious but you get it! ;)
I need to see tiny Moses and Alma!
Lindsay
Cute photos! I try to take dog pics from different angles. Some angles just look better than others, but I never really thought about why.
weliveinaflat
Somebody should invent a camera, 1 click, many angles, different shots! ;)
2browndawgs
Love those photos. That is my favorite way to take pics of Storm.
weliveinaflat
Really? My impression is that you take a lot of frontal shots at eye level… I must be wrong! ;)