What height do you shoot from?

[Super]

Hey there. I notice that about 98% of photos here are taken from the height of the photographers eye but I thought, since Disney is oriented toward children mainly then shouldn't people photos mimick this if not solely for memory's sake in that you probably don't have childhood memories at 1.8m rather maybe 1m ?

Anyway... what are your thoughts. I always thought the best idea for photos from an adult photographer would be to crouch/squat and take the photo from about 1m above the ground. The other benefit of these lower height shots is you always get more obsticals in your shots and finer details of your environment. Like handrails, low walls etc

 

[ukcatfan]

Hey there. I notice that about 98% of photos here are taken from the height of the photographers eye but I thought, since Disney is oriented toward children mainly then shouldn't people photos mimick this if not solely for memory's sake in that you probably don't have childhood memories at 1.8m rather maybe 1m ?

Hold on now. Most of us are in the US, and don't understand what a "m" is!

Seriously though, I try to shoot from the height that frames the shot the best. That often involves finding the best height to meet the Thirds rule the best. I am only 5'5", so I kind of shoot from a kid's level all the time.

 

[NostalgicDad]

I was squatting on Main St in DL during early entry once. A CM was walking backwards whilst glopping grease on the carriage rails and darn near fell right over my back side. Somehow we avoided what would have been a messy disaster!

 

[jann1033]

i'm kind of the same as the rest, whereever i think it's best..i would love to shoot from the ground but i would never be able to get back up and don't want to crawl for the rest of the day so crouching as far as my knees will bend is as low as i go unless i can sit on something then bend over to get a little lower

 

[Golf4food]

I try to mix it up - most would be eye hieght for large angle shots but I often squat down for close-ups of for wide open shots for DOF. I try to be concious and mix it up a little.

 

[fitzperry]

Whatever I think will frame the shot best and embarrass my family. I climb up on stuff, get down on the ground, whatever.

 

[MontanaZoo]

Everywhere else but Disney World, I'm up high, down on the ground, on hills, on my stomach, whatever works. I think I would get hurt if I all of the sudden dropped to the ground in Disney World and would probably lose the people I'm with.

 

[gokenin]

I found that alot of my shots at disney tend to be taken either with me sitting on a bench,wall,raliing something to try to get a lower look to the shot. I never thought about it but may be because at 6'5 you tend not to get the really good looking angles to things at eyelevel

 

[mabas9395]

Most of my disney shots were from my eye level. But when I take photos of the kids soccer games, I'm always sitting on the ground.

 

[Groucho]

I found that alot of my shots at disney tend to be taken either with me sitting on a bench,wall,raliing something to try to get a lower look to the shot. I never thought about it but may be because at 6'5 you tend not to get the really good looking angles to things at eyelevel

That sounds familiar. I'm about 6'2" and usually at least lean over somewhat when shooting. Then again, a friend who's probably almost a foot shorter finds my "normal" shots interesting because they're from a height that he normally doesn't get to see.

I don't do enough "low" shooting as I should, but I have been doing more lately. This is an area where Live View can come in handy. Last weekend, I spent time at a racetrack and did several very low shots, some where I'd compose with Live View then switch back to normal when actually taking the photo.