Camera Angles

A POV shot shows exactly what a character sees by placing the camera at their eyes — usually right after a shot of them looking — so the audience shares their perspective, including movement, obstruction or distortion.

A Dutch angle tilts the camera sideways around the lens axis so the horizon and verticals run diagonally, making the world look off-balance — a classic signal of unease, madness, intoxication or danger.

A high-angle shot looks down on the subject from above eye level, shrinking them in the frame and in status — often used to make a character seem small, vulnerable, trapped or overwhelmed.

A low-angle shot looks up at the subject from below eye level, making them loom larger against the ceiling or sky — used for power, menace or heroism, or to make a space feel monumental.

An overhead shot looks straight down on the scene from directly above, at about 90 degrees, flattening it into a map-like graphic pattern — also called a bird's-eye or god's-eye view.

A worm's-eye view places the camera on or near the ground pointing steeply upward, so buildings, trees and people tower over the lens and the sky or ceiling fills the background — an extreme form of the low angle.

A profile shot films the subject from the side, roughly 90 degrees to their line of sight, so the outline of the face is emphasized and the character seems withdrawn, observed, or locked in confrontation with someone off-frame.

An eye-level shot places the camera at the height of the subject's eyes, looking straight on, producing a neutral, natural view that neither empowers nor diminishes the character.

A trunk shot looks up from inside a car trunk at characters leaning over it, framing them against the sky with the lid as a border — a low-angle object POV strongly associated with Quentin Tarantino.

A voyeur shot watches a character who doesn't know they're being observed — through a window, blinds, a door gap or foliage, or from afar with a long lens — making the audience complicit in spying.

A ground-level shot rests the camera on or just above the floor, so the ground fills the lower frame and action — feet, wheels, objects — happens right at the lens; unlike a worm's-eye view, it need not point steeply upward.

A hip-level shot places the camera at the height of the character's hips, emphasizing hands, belts and holsters — the classic standoff angle of westerns — and giving figures a slight heroic lift.

A shoulder-level shot puts the camera at the height of the actor's shoulders — slightly below the eyes — so characters feel a touch taller and more substantial than at eye level while the view still reads as natural.