Angles: in relation to Context Meaning and Emotion

The use of angles is a powerful weapon in any photographers arsenal. By simply moving the position of the camera in relation to your subject it can affect the composition, the context and the interpreted meaning of a photograph. The most obvious example is the sense of dominance and grandeur that a lower camera angle can lend to a subject. 

Above is a fairly straight image of the ferris wheel in Manchester, UK. This angle is arguably the most "realistic", providing a full context by including the surrounding environment of the ferris wheel. Even here the structure exerts a sense of dominance due the it's sheer scale in contrast to it's neighbouring buildings. Now take a look at the image below:

By photographing the subject from a closer, lower angle, the ferris wheel has been isolated from it’s surroundings which alters the context of the image. Where as before, we had a fairly good understanding of the ferris wheels surroundings and buildings to provide context of its scale, all of that has now been lost, giving a sense of mystery to the image. 

However, the lower angle this photograph has been taken from seems to strengthen the sense of dominance of the subject, it’s towering metal frame scaling high into the air can translate feelings of intimidation to the viewer. 

Now, to me and you this is just a ferris wheel, something associated with fun and innocent entertainment. But imagine this wasn’t the case, and imagine this image was taken from a film still or a series of images from a photographers project and imagine that within this context the ferris wheel was a mark of oppression. A symbol of grandeur and prowess of a dominant and unsavoury power. In this context the feelings created from shooting from a lower angle are even more exaggerated. 

And finally, what if I told you that this ferry wheel isn’t actually a life sized model, but a small 6ft version that lives in my model obsessed uncles garage and was photographed against a black ceiling. At this point you understand that if I had photographed this from a different angle and perhaps with a wider lens then the image would have translated a completely different reality, completely different emotions and an entirely different context. This wasn’t the case, it is in fact a real ferris wheel but your starting to get the picture of how affectively angles can be used. 

Take a look at the picture below:

This time feelings of grandeur or dominance aren’t the feeling Im trying to translate. This time I’m creating an article for a social media based media company to pull as many people as to the page as possible. I’m writing an article called: Photos of the top 10 weirdest tourist attractions in Manchester. Notice how much information has been removed from the scene by taking the photograph from such an obscure and unrecognisable angle. Especially when the image will be shown as a small thumbnail on a Facebook newsfeed, people are going to wonder, what an earth is that ? The feelings of let down and being cheated, along with the question of what am I doing with my life ? come only after you have clicked on the link and scored us a dollar from our sponsors. Again all of this is make believe but the purpose of shooting at this angle would be to create a sense of mystery. 

However, the myriad of emotions, context and meaning to be translated from using different angles doesn’t end at creating a sense of mystery or dominance. Look at this image below, taken as a still from “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (one of my favourite films, love me or hate me for it):

This image is presented as a POV and is used so as to suggest upon the powerlessness and vulnerability of the subjects. For some reason, the accentuation of their helplessness seems also to make the characters more likeable.

Thanks so much for reading ! Feel free to check out my website at: www.josephrigbyphotography.co.uk