An eye-level camera position generally remains at the human eye's distance from the ground to make the film subject appear as a viewer would see it in person. This perspective is always used when shooting a point-of-view shot of a person following something from his line of sight. The eye-level position may be used with any character in a film, such as a little girl or a basketball player. But in general, an eye-level shot occupies a position about five to six feet from the ground.
The low-angle position has the camera near the ground while the lens of the camera points up to shoot a subject at a higher position. This provides a shot similar to a person looking up to something above his own height. In film, a low-angle shot usually exudes happiness or victory, or it imparts strength or authority to the subject. This perspective is commonly used with characters such as the U.S. president, a CEO, a warrior or a superhero, or whenever a shot requires the subject to look strong and powerful. A low-angle camera position is also used to display accurate space and perspective for a character’s point of view of a subject in a higher position, such as when a person looks up at a giant or an airplane in flight. This also makes human subjects appear a little bit fatter and things a little bit wider than they really are, depending on the specific angle used.
The high-angle position has the camera farther from the ground while the lens of the camera points down to shoot a subject at a lower position. This produces a shot similar to a person looking down to something lower than her own position. Some also refer to this camera position as a shooting-down camera position.
In film, a high-angle shot usually exudes dejection or defeat, or imparts weakness to the subject. This is commonly used with characters that are belittled, sad or weak. This camera position is also used to display accurate space and perspective for a character’s point of view of a subject in a lower position, such as when a person looks down at a dwarf walking on the ground. This also makes human subjects appear a little bit thinner and things a little bit narrower than they really are, depending on the specific angle used.