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I need to search for some pictures taken from angle like below picture. what do you call this viewpoint or position the photo is taken from?

enter image description here

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  • Where is the gesture here? A gesture is a particular movement, normally of the hand. It has nothing to do with a viewpoint.
    – Andrew Leach
    Jan 30, 2017 at 12:33
  • @AndrewLeach sorry for my bad English, position or viewpoint or what ever it is Jan 30, 2017 at 12:35
  • OK, I've removed references to gestures (including title and tags). Please edit further if I've misinterpreted. Sorry if it seems fastidiously pernickity, but without a clear question you won't get the answer you want.
    – Andrew Leach
    Jan 30, 2017 at 12:38
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    It looks like you are "looking over the subject´s shoulder". But usually we would be a little more behind the subject to say that. Jan 30, 2017 at 12:39
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    @Cascabel a photographer. Jan 30, 2017 at 12:46

2 Answers 2

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I believe it is called "3/4 rear view". Still very interested to know any alternative phrases used in photography and all.

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From the perspective of the photographer or cineast, this viewpoint is often called an over the shoulder shot.

In cinema, directors such as Orson Welles used it to develop empathy with the character. Often seen after an "establishing shot" to show dialogue from the viewpoint of the main character, the image is framed with the back of the head and shoulders.

It is also used after a "creeping up" or "watcher shot" to heighten tension.

See this site for more information on all "Shots with a Special Narrative Significance".

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  • The uses of this term that I've seen require the main subject to be facing the person over whose shoulder we're looking. So typically face-to-face dialogue. While we could stretch to include a computer as the subject it's hard to anthropomorphise a blank screen
    – Chris H
    Jan 30, 2017 at 14:51
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    @ChrisH Except it is not restricted to that. I have also seen it used to establish distance between the subject and what they are observing. Click on the link and take a look at the example. Jan 30, 2017 at 17:17

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