Eye to Eye
Getting eye level with your subject
Getting eye level with your subject is the most natural way for the photo viewer to connect with your main subject. When you photograph down at your subject it takes power away from them and when you photograph up it makes your subject look down to you. An eye-level angle gives the viewer a sense of equality.
In these two photographs of a Uinta ground squirrel in front of the Moulton barn in Grand Teton National Park, the photo on the left the photographer is standing. The photo on the right the photographer is laying down. Other than the change of angle there is no change to the perspective of the subject.
Jennifer Leigh Warner lays on ground to get eye level with the ground squirrel.
These images of these raccoons are another example of photographing down on your subject vs getting eye level vs photographing up at your subject.
Lower Your Camera
Many new camera have tilt screens on the back, which allow you to lower your camera to the subject while still allowing your to view the photo.
Ground Pod
Some photographers use ground pods with Gimble mounts to get low to the ground without putting their cameras in the sand or dirt.
Approaching your subjects
When approaching your subject make sure that you are advancing towards your subject slowly and carefully, so as not to scare it away. It is often best to lay or crouch down and wait for the subject to back to what it was doing before you arrive.
A black backed jackal lays down on the sand dunes in Sossusvlei, Namibia.