![aerial view meaning aerial view meaning](https://cdn.britannica.com/49/129549-050-FB082C69/view-neighbourhood-suburbs-city.jpg)
It evokes a sense of familiarity and empathy, even with animals that we would be frightened to find ourselves face-to-face with in real life.(1) Most of the Barbarians had stopped their fighting, and now watched the aerial battle. Since we often don’t interact with these sort of subjects at eye level, photographing them from this perspective allows viewers to feel more connected with them – especially if the subject is making direct eye contact with the camera. While photographing humans from eye level is fairly common, what would happen if you photographed other subjects from eye level, such as an animal? While we interact with people on the same level every day, we hardly get face-to-face with a fox, or a bird, or a snake. After all, it is typically the way we regard most subjects in our day to day lives, especially other people. This is the most common way to photograph a subject. If this photograph was taken from any other perspective, the viewer wouldn’t feel as connected with the subjects in the image. Looking at those tiny hands grasping the finger, you can almost imagine how it feels to be in that room with the baby. When looking at this photograph, you can feel the love and compassion that the older person feels toward this new life. The beautiful photograph above shows a newborn baby holding someone’s hand. An image from this point of view can be captivating, heartwarming, or even slightly disturbing depending on the subjects you decide to photograph. These sort of images make the viewer feel as though they are experiencing the scene themselves, and makes it easy to put themselves in the photographer’s place. For instance, if you were to take a shot of someone making dinner, take a photograph of the food as if you were the chef – perhaps even including hands in the foreground for reference. To use this technique, photograph your subject from the point of view of the person interacting with the subject. This point of view tends to be the most effective, especially when photographing human subjects. While any photograph of the Grand Canyon tends to be beautiful, seeing it from above puts it in a whole new perspective. This beautiful photograph, taken above the Grand Canyon, is a stunning abstract mix of textures, patterns, and shades of red and brown. What seem as normal landscapes from the ground turn into beautiful, abstract works of art when seen from above. Photographing from a bird’s-eye view can be especially effective if shooting landscapes from a helicopter (if you get so lucky). If the subject is an inanimate object, it can sometimes make the viewer feel as though there is a separation between them and the subject. Photographing from this point of view can make viewers feel as though they are superior to the subject – such as a stern father looking down on his misbehaving child – or protective over the subject. This could be taken from up in the sky, such as when flying in a plane, or could simply be taken by standing on a ladder, slightly above your subject. When photographing a subject from above, it is known as a “bird’s-eye view”. While you probably don’t want to be known as “the photographer who always takes photos while lying down on the ground”, switching up your position every once in a while can lead to very interesting results. While a lot of beginners probably take the majority of their photographs straight-on, it can be a good idea to start looking at subjects from different angles. A blade of grass can look like a skyscraper, and a skyscraper can look like a tiny little house.
![aerial view meaning aerial view meaning](https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8084/8296001648_3b157201bb_b.jpg)
Subjects can be dramatically distorted simply by where you place your camera. Are you laying on the ground, looking up at your subject? Are you flying in a helicopter, looking down at the landscape below? Or are you simply standing and looking straight-on at your subject? Whether you’re looking up, down, or straight-on changes the scene dramatically, and changes the way that the viewer interprets the final photograph. In relation to photography, ‘point of view’ refers to the position the camera is in when viewing a scene.