raina's journey: Camera Shot Sizes

On Monday, August 18 we learned about the different types of shot sizes. My teacher assigned us to take or use five pictures in our camera roll to demonstrate different types of shot sizes. In the first picture, the shot size shown is an example of an extreme close up. An extreme close up is an even tighter shot of a subject or object, showing only specific features. Likewise, in the first picture I chose to take an extreme close up of my friend’s eye. I chose to take an extreme close up of her eye because she has vibrant and colorful eyes that remind me of nature. Specifically, her eyes have hues of blue, green, and yellow. In addition, the second picture is an example of a medium full shot. A medium full shot is a type of medium shot that portrays the subject from knees and above. Therefore, the second picture is me and my friends backstage preparing for a performance at our school’s Asian American Pacific Islander showcase. Since the shot shows both our faces and bodies, people can most likely infer that we are close friends. This is because in the picture the distance between all of us is small and we are close together while smiling at the camera. Therefore, I chose that picture for my medium full shot because I believe that it perfectly demonstrates its purpose of showing the subjects facial expressions and the connection it has to their body language. In my third picture, it is an example of a loose close up shot. The loose close up shot is of me and my friend Grace. I chose this picture to demonstrate a loose close up shot because it shows in great detail our emotions and reaction in that moment. The photo was taken during my school’s homecoming dance. As a result, based on the loose close up, you can see that me and my friend are excited to be there.

Although there are many different types of shot sizes among the waist to head of a subject, there are also shot sizes from a farther distance. In other words, I had only just talked about shot sizes that were within the range of the torso and up. However, there are other shot sizes we learned in class that have a bigger range of what is shown. One example would be the fourth picture I inserted. The fourth picture is an example of a full shot. In class, I learned that a full shot shows the entire character or body of the subject. Thus, I chose a picture that was taken during my Chinese Schools’ sports day. In the picture are three people, me, my friend Kelly, and my friend Lucas. You can see in the picture that our bodies take up a majority of the shot. Since that is the case, the picture also shows the body language and relationship between the subjects. For instance, you can see that we are the hosts or speakers at the event based on the way we are standing and the environment around us. Therefore, picture four is an example of a full shot because it allows the audience to absorb all the relevant information of the subjects’ body language, making us seem important. Now that I have mentioned a full shot, it is not to be confused with a wide shot. I learned in class that a wide shot also shows the entire subject but in relation to what surrounds them. In other words, in a wide shot, the subjects are usually smaller in order to show their relation to the surrounding background. Therefore, the fifth picture I inserted demonstrates a wide shot. The picture is of my fan dance team performing on stage. We are the subjects of the picture and as a result are small in comparison to the stage, which is the background. This allows the audience to absorb all of the relevant context of the scene at once. My wide shot clearly shows who is performing on stage and where we are positioned on stage. Like many wide shots, my wide shot helps build ambiance to the scene which is why I chose it to demonstrate this type of shot. Overall, after collecting and taking different pictures to represent the types of shot sizes, I have a better understanding of the concept. I thought this task was extremely fun to do and now I am glad that I can recognize the different shot sizes within my own pictures.

First picture (extreme close up)