Types of Shot in Photography

“If a picture paints a thousand words then why can’t I paint you…” 
                                                                                           -If by Bread

“Look at this photograph

Everytime I do it makes me laugh…”

                                                          -Photograph by Nickelback

                                                

These are just some of the many songs written about photographs.  Almost every one of us loves photographs. We look at them to remember the past. A photograph shows something that happened that can never be repeated. It can also show things that needless to say or write a lot of words to describe. It also captures artistic views in our environment that common people usually ignore.

            Anyone who has a camera can take pictures. It doesn’t really matter if you have an education about photography or have not. However, it is still better to learn (even the basics) the things about photography in order for us to have better pictures that we can share to others.

            Because of that, I wanted to share the types of shot in photography and the uses of each of these shots.

            There are six basic types of shot in photography but I want to divide them into two categories – according to distance and angle. Let’s talk about those types of shot in details for us to learn where we shall use them.

            In the distance category, there three types of shot. These are the Long Shot (LS) or some call it Wide Shot (WS), Medium Shot (MS), and Close up Shot (CS).

            Wide shot is a type of shot that includes almost everything that we wanted to show. It is a general view of a scene. It is usually used to establish the scene by answering the question “where are you”. That’s why when we are watching movies, a building is shown first before a person talking inside that building. Film makers wanted to tell the viewers that the person talking is within that building.

            Long shot is usually used in landscape photography. This is of course because photographers wanted to show almost everything in the scene of landscapes.

            Let’s go then to a shot that shows some part of a general view – the Medium shot. After establishing the scene, it’s now time to capture those parts of that scene a bit closer. We can now show people, trees, plants, or any interesting subjects in that particular scene.

After showing the general view and some parts of a scene, it’s now time to capture the details by getting close up shots. When you took a photo of a plant for example, you can also capture its leaves or stems to get the details of that plant.

            Close up shots also make us see things closer than how we normally see them. We may pass by a flower in a path way and do not mind it at all. But once photographed in a close up shot, the flower then shows its real beauty that we can appreciate.

                 How long, medium, and close the shots are relative. There is really no exact measurement of those shots. Whether the shot is wide or medium depends upon your reference. If your reference is a building, then a shot of that building will be considered a long shot and subjects inside it are medium and close up shots. However if your reference is the whole city, the building will then be considered a close up shot and the photo of the many buildings in that city is the wide shot.

            Knowing those types of shot according to distance will then guide us in photographing things. In documenting a birthday party for example, it is better to shoot first a wide shot of the place where the event will be held (it’s better to take several shots of at least three). After taking that wide shot, it’s now time to go inside that house and take medium shots of people in the party. It’s also good to take close up shots of details of the house, candles, peoples’ emotion, etc.

            In English subject, there is what we call the inductive reasoning which takes the reasoning from general to specific. In the same manner, in documenting events, it is better to start from a wide shot (general view) to medium shots and close up shots (specific). It is also good to take various shots of wide, medium, and close up to show variety of shots in the photo album.

 Okay let’s now learn also the types of shot according to angle. These are the High Angle Shot (bird’s eye view), Normal Angle Shot (man’s eye view), and Low Angle Shot (worm’s eye view).

            Let’s first talk about High Angle Shot. This is shot that is taken from above the subject. This use used to diminish the subject or simply to human subjects for example, it causes dwarfing. It is also used in landscape photography to be able to include almost everything in the viewfinder.

Normal Angle Shot is based on the angle people generally see things. This gives a natural look to subjects since it’s the angle where we normally see things.

The Low Angle Shot emphasizes height and power. A person photographed in a low angle (with matching facial expression of course) can show that he is proud of something. A small little plant shot from lowest angle possible can also show some heights despite its little stature.

Once again, the key here is to take the photos in the angle that suits the need based on what I discussed above. It is also better to take as many angles as possible if time allows. This will let you choose from many angles in case you’re not sure if what angle you should take the photo.

            In taking pictures I suggest that do not be limited by the rules. Try breaking the rules sometimes and keep on experimenting. Sometimes the best shots are taken from breaking the rules. As they say however “before you can break the rule, you must first know the rule.”