Corcuera National High School
Senior High School
Poblacion, Corcuera, Romblon
Media and Information Literacy
Week 6 – Grammars of the Camera
TYPES OF DEFINITION
SHOTS
Long Shot A long shot is used to show the full
human figure and often provides a
clear view of the environment or
setting where we find the character.
Extreme Long An extreme long shot is used to show
Shot landscapes or provide a view of a
whole world (ie. A city, a town, or
even a galaxy) where the story is set.
Full Shot A full shot is a variation on the long
shot, showing the full subject (ie. The
full human figure, with the feet at the
bottom on the frame and the head at
the top of the frame).
Medium Shot A medium shot shows the human body
from mid-shin or mid-thigh up and is
often used to show interaction
between two or more characters.
Close-Up A close-up only shows one part of
the subject, usually in great detail. A
full-screen shot of a subject’s face,
showing the finest nuances of
expression.
Extreme Close-Up/ extreme close-up, would include shots
Detail Shot (for of a person’s face, or the paws of a
object) dog walking down a path, of a hand
on a doorbell, or a tree branch.
POINT OF VIEW
Establishing Shot Often used at the beginning of a scene
to indicate the location or setting, it is
usually a long shot taken from a
neutral position.
Reaction Shot To show the effect of one person’s
words or actions on the other people
in the scene, a reaction shot is used.
Over-the-Shoulder Often used in a dialogue scene, a
Shot frontal view of a dialogue partner from
the perspective of someone standing
behind and slightly to the side of the
partner, so that both parts can be
seen.
Insert Shot A detail shot which quickly gives visual
information necessary to understand
the meaning of the scene, a
newspaper page, or a physical detail.
Reverse-Angle A shot from the opposite perspective,
Shot e.g. after an over-the-shoulder shot.
CAMERA ANGLES
High Angle Shot A high angle shot positions the camera
or Bird’s Eye View above eye-level, looking down on the
subject, which consequently appears
insignificant, weak, helpless, or small
according to how extreme the angle is
Low Angle Shot or A low angle shot has the camera
Below Shot or looking up at the subject, which then
Worm’s Eye View appears important, powerful, or
domineering, again depending on how
exaggerated the angle is
Eye-level Shot or Views a subject from the level of a
Below Shot person’s eyes.
Reverse Angle Shows a scene from the perspective of
a character. With reverse angle the
camera shows what the subject is
seeing.
Oblique Angle The oblique angle is shot by laterally
tilting the camera frame and making
the characters or objects look askew.
CAMERA MOVEMENT
Panning When the camera stays in the same
position but turns left or right.
Tracking When the camera changes its position
by moving left or right.
Elevating When the camera changes its position
by moving up or down.
Dollying Changing the camera’s position by
moving it forward or backward.
Tilting When the camera stays in the same
position but turns up or down.
Zooming Even when the camera is stationary it
can appear to move closer to, or
further from, its subject by using a
special ring or lever on the lens
COMPOSITION
Rule of Thirds The rule of thirds involves mentally
dividing up your image using 2
horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines,
as shown below. The rule of thirds
says that you should position the
most important elements in your
scene along these lines, or at the
points where they intersect.
Leading Lines When we look at a photo our eye
is naturally drawn along lines. By
thinking about how you place lines
in your composition, you can affect
the way we view the image,
pulling us into the picture, towards
the subject, or on a journey
"through" the scene. There are
many different types of line -
straight, diagonal, curvy, zigzag,
radial etc - and each can be used
to enhance our photo's
composition.
Symmetry and We are surrounded by symmetry
Patterns and patterns, both natural and
man-made., They can make for
very eye-catching compositions,
particularly in situations where
they are not expected. Another
great way to use them is to break
the symmetry or pattern in some
 Corcuera National High School
Senior High School
Poblacion, Corcuera, Romblon

Media and Information Literacy

Week 6 – Grammars of the Camera

way, introducing tension and a silhouetted object usually being

focal point to the scene. black.
Depth of Field Because photography is a two- Reflection Reflection photography, also
dimensional medium, we have to referred to as mirror photography,
choose our composition carefully is when you use reflective surfaces
to convey the sense of depth that to create an artistic echo of a
was present in the actual scene. scene. This type of photography
You can create depth in a photo can add an interesting spin to
by including objects in the locations that are hotspots for
foreground, middle ground and photographers such as oceans,
background. Another useful lakes, puddles, and even rain
composition technique is drops.
overlapping, where you
deliberately partially obscure one
object with another. The
human eye naturally recognizes
these layers and mentally
separates them out,
creating an image with more
depth.
Framing The world is full of objects, which
make perfect natural frames, such
as trees, archways and holes. By
placing these around the edge of
the composition you help to isolate
the main subject from the outside
world. The result is a more
focused image, which draws your
eye naturally to the main point of
interest.
Viewpoint Rather than just shooting from eye
level, consider photographing from
high above, down at ground level,
from the side, from the back, from
a long way away, from very close
up, and so on.
Filling the frame Tendency to exaggerate viewfinder
information. Often perceive things
bigger than actuality not to notice
'slight' distractions.
Diagonals One side of the picture is divided
into two. Then place a corridor
along this dividing line. According
to the Diagonal Rule, important
elements of the picture should be
placed along these diagonals.
Silhouette Silhouette photography is a
wonderful way to convey drama,
mystery, emotion and mood in a
picture. A silhouette is defined as a
view of an object or a scene
consisting of the outline and a
featureless interior, with the