How to get REALLY LOW.

Written By Brendan Harington

One of my favourite types of images to capture is from low level. Unfortunately it’s not so easy when you’re in a game reserve with the big 5 around. Especially if you’re trying to take a photo of a predator.

There are many benefits to shooting from a low angle:

  1. Intimacy with the subject. When shooting down on an animal, the animal seems to look inferior. If you get eye level it gives you a unique perspective. You’re looking dead on into the animals eyes and connecting with the animal on a more personal level. Eye contact is always a bonus to catch the viewers attention.

  2. Soft blurry backgrounds. Because you’re shooting from a low angle the background is no longer the ground the animal is standing on, it’s now the trees on the distant horizon. This gives you much softer backgrounds separating the animal from the background and making your subject pop more in the picture.

  3. Emphasise the size of the animal. When shooting from really low at a large animal like an elephant, you're actually shooting up towards it. Making the animal look even bigger and more dominant in the frame.

Over the years I have tried different methods of trying to get my camera low. From choosing a low safari vehicle, to hanging out of the vehicle with my camera in my hands to try and get the camera as low as possible. Unfortunealy this never got me the results I was looking for. Now with the advancements in autofocus with mirrorless cameras and various other gadgets I’ve acquired, I’ve become a lot more successful capturing these tricky shots. So, How do I do it?

You will need a mirrorless camera with animal eye detect on. You can use a wide area focus mode with eye detect or 3D tracking. A SLR camera in AF-F mode doesn’t really work. Getting the animal in focus is really tricky and results are very seldom good.

Equipment you’ll need for the monopod setup:

  • A monopod with either a removable foot or just a thread to secure a cold shoe mount to puny your monitor. Your ball head will be mounted on the other side.

  • A monitor to duplicate your camera screen. Your camera can be as far as 1,5 meters below you, and getting the composition right when you can’t see the screen can be a challenge. I use the Accsoon SeeMo 4K unit. My iPhone 16 mounts onto the unit and I use the iPhone screen to replicate my camera screen.

  • A remote shutter release so you can actuate the shutter.

Brendan Harington