The second page

Overview

A frequently asked question is what the ideal camera height is when taking photographs.

The correct height depends on various factors.

What kind of information should the images convey, and how much? What type of movement is involved (on foot, by bike, by car)? How and where is the camera mounted? etc.

As always, the general rule is: you have to experiment yourself to achieve the best results for your own working methods.

For me, a height of between 2.10 m and 2.40 m has proven to be optimal. Below this, your own silhouette may take up too much of the frame; above this, you quickly run into problems with the stability of mounts, tripod legs, etc.

Although your own silhouette in the image becomes smaller as the height increases, this effect also diminishes. It is only really visible in the area around the nadir.

In my experience with the GoPro Max, increasing the height has little to no effect on the information content of areas that are significantly more substantial than the path beneath the photographer, e.g. the horizon.

In a series of experiments, I took photographs from the same position at different heights and using different tripod setups.

Whilst changes in the proportions are clearly visible when looking towards the nadir, there are few or no significant differences when looking towards the horizon.