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Types of Camera Shots & Angles

Capturing important moments on film, video and still cameras is one way to keep memories alive. Many amateur photographers are turning to digital cameras and even cellphones to take pictures, but not everyone takes quality shots. There are dozens of angles and types of shot, but you need to decide what the actual subject is in every photograph. Focus on scenery or people when you travel, or stay near home and walk around the neighborhood shooting close-ups of flowers. Zoom in on wildlife or tag along with a friend for some impressive aerial images. High, low, near or wide -- there's a way to get the photo you truly want.

High Angle Scenics
- Wide-angle shots from high up or at ground level work well for scenery.
  
  Stand on a hill above a vista and try several shots looking down and out. These are usually very wide shots, allowing you to capture more within a single frame. Panoramic photography lets you get a super-wide image of a broad, sweeping view. You can also get wide-angle scenics through aerial shots, which are taken from a high point of view. When traveling, you can take architectural photographs by going up onto the roof of a building and looking down onto the city streets, or get wide shots of entire cities from sites like the top of the Empire State Building or Eiffel Tower. In filming, a crane shot is often used to present the feel of looking down on a subject. Shoot in early morning or late afternoon for ideal lighting on scenics, and aim away from the sun.
Standard Medium Shots
- Take side-angle shots for duets in motion.
  
  Medium angle is frequently used for the standard two-shot or for subjects like plants, small groups, activities, and collections. Some action shots can be taken by panning, or following a subject through the movement then snapping. Zooming might create a blur with the subject out of focus. Images of two or three people talking or performing, hiking on a trail or making something together are easy to capture with SLRs (single-lens reflex cameras) using the typical 50 millimeter lens. This lens gives you a wide range of options useful for most general photography. Stay level with your subject -- if they're sitting, sit; if they're standing, stand. Shooting from a low angle is possible, but is more for distortion or effects.
Close-ups
- Create a rapport with your subjects to capture great close-ups.
  
  Portrait photography is very often done in close-up shots of faces, or from the waist up. Standard and telephoto lenses work fine for these in informal or formal settings. Wide-angle or fish-eye will create odd distortions. Extreme close-ups focus on just a face or part of the face, but you can take pictures of two people together in close-ups from the shoulders to the top of the head or waist up. Full-body portraits of groups like those in weddings or theater casts can be taken straight on or from a right or left angle. Choose backgrounds carefully to make sure nothing seems to be "growing" out of someone's head, like a telephone pole or sailboat mast.
Zoom and Macro
- Zoom photography can yield some beautiful effects.
  
  Zoom shots leave a slight blur around the edges and are a little trickier to capture. To try it, you'll need a telephoto lens that zooms in. Straight-on shots work, or you can pan a subject like a running horse and then zoom in and snap. Macro lenses allow for super close-ups of a variety of subjects and you don't have to just find tiny things to photograph. Take shots of parts of larger subjects, too. Common macro shots are insects, alpine flowers, veins on leaves, textures in rocks and so forth.

Photography