Low-Angle Shot Explained: How to Film a Low-Angle Shot

In cinematography, a low-angle shot involves positioning a camera below a subject's eye line and angling upward to capture them. Low-angle photography abounds in filmmaking because it creates emotional stakes that rarely come across in a standard eye-level shot.

For decades, directors and cinematographers have incorporated low-angle shots into their shot lists. In Mission: Impossible (1996), director Brian De Palma juxtaposed extreme low-angle shots with high-angle shots and Dutch angle shots to create a sense of claustrophobic dread. In Full Metal Jacket (1987), Stanley Kubrick used a more subtle lower angle shot to represent the perspective of Private Joker as he is berated by his drill sergeant. Other motion pictures renowned for low-angle photography include Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941), Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008), and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994).

In some motion pictures, a low-angle shot conveys a sense of helplessness and submissiveness. It can be used to showcase the perspective of a child, for example. In many cases, these shots imply a point-of-view from on or near the ground as one stares up at people standing above them. Meanwhile, the shot's subject looks dominant and powerful as they look down toward the camera. In some cases, this may convey a literal physical difference in height. In other cases, the downward gaze is metaphorical, conveying an imbalance of power or status.

To film a low-angle shot, you must position the camera below the eye level of your subject. In many cases, camera operators will sit or even lie on the ground to film a subject above them. Directors may also position actors on risers to make them appear higher up.

You can also combine a low-angle shot with camera movements for added effect. A low-angle dolly push combines a dolly shot with a low-angle shot to imply a greater potential for action. A low-angle establishing shot may be filmed with a wide-angle lens that shows a much larger image from a low angle. By gradually panning the camera in this establishing shot, you can reveal an entire setting from a low-to-the-ground perspective.

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