National Institute of Mass Communication & Journalism, Ahmedabad

Photography nowadays isn’t just about clicking pictures randomly. It is a lot more than that as there are many types of shots in photography which most of us don’t even know about.

Photography is an art in itself and learning it is one of the biggest assets in the modern world. Though there are a lot of people who don’t really know about which angles are suitable and what the desired camera shots in filmmaking actually are, they still do want to learn.

If you too are approaching a career in filmmaking, you must already know how cinematography is an essential part of the filmmaking process. The cinematography is the art and science of motion-picture photography. For Example:- The decisions made about lighting, camera filters and lenses while shooting a movie scene. In our blog, we have mentioned some of the best camera shots and angles that you can use to improve your photos and take a step further in understanding cinematography.

1. The Medium Shot

The medium shot is one of the basic angles in photography which does resemble most of the photographs you click. A subject is captured in a camera from about the height of the waist to the top of the head. The entire body isn’t visible, yet some of the backgrounds are visible in photos like these. These are the baseline of photography and even though they might be taken with a lot of adjustments by the cameraman, they still look pretty normal most of the times.

2. The ‘Close-Up’

Close-ups are one of the most famous camera angles which require a lot of precision and of course, a lot of photos in practice go to dump. These types of images are used to create a strong connection with the subject and in these type of poses, a person’s emotions are reflected in his face. It requires a lot of practice to come up with the best ‘close-up’ pictures, yet they are beautiful most of the times.

3. The Low Angle

The low angled photographs are also equally hard to take and they require a lot of environmental elements to be in accordance. You have to make sure that there is not too much brightness in the background or there isn’t a lot of glare or darkness. These types of pictures make the subject long larger. Such kind of photos is the best type for Instagram and other such social networking sites.

4. The High Angle

The High angle, in nutshell, is the exact opposite of the low angled pictures. It makes the subject look small or vulnerable. It is also known as the ‘bird’s eye view’. These kinds of pictures, if shot perfectly adds a lot of glam and beauty to the subject and usually turn out to be much better than other angles in general.

5. The Dutch Angle

Also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle, or oblique angle, it is a type of shot where the camera is set to an angle approximately between 0 to 90 degrees, so as to create a dramatic effect. The shot is akin to how one would see with a tilted head.

These skills can be handy for you if you want to pursue a career in any field of mass media. NIMCJ, a journalism and mass communication institute in India. To know more visit www.nimcj.org.

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