| extreme close-up | A frame that fills with one feature — an eye, a mouth, a ring, a trigger. | A tiny detail carries the scene’s meaning. |
| close-up | Head and shoulders, or an object large enough to read emotion or texture. | Dialogue beats, identity, and reaction. |
| medium close-up | Chest-up framing that keeps face and a hint of gesture. | Default interview and conversation size. |
| medium shot | Waist-up framing that balances body language with environment. | Blocking, props in hand, and two-person exchanges. |
| cowboy shot | Mid-thigh up, historically so a holster stays in frame. | Armed or swaggering figures who need stance as well as face. |
| full shot | The entire body from head to toe with a modest amount of ground and headroom. | Costume, gait, or full-body silhouette matters. |
| wide shot | The subject is small enough that architecture and geography share the frame. | Locate people in a place before tightening. |
| extreme wide shot | A landscape-scale frame where figures are tiny or absent. | Establishing image that sells climate, city, or isolation. |
| ultra wide | An extremely short focal length that stretches space and exaggerates near objects. | Immersive interiors, skate, or a slightly unhinged point of view. |
| two shot | Two people share the frame at roughly equal weight. | Relationships, arguments, and paired presence. |
| over-the-shoulder | The camera looks past one person’s shoulder and cheek onto the facing subject. | Conversation coverage that keeps both parties connected. |
| point of view | The frame is what a character sees, including blink, height, and obstruction. | Lock the audience into one person’s perception. |
| dutch angle | The horizon is canted so verticals lean. | Unease, intoxication, or a world whose rules have slipped. |
| high-angle shot | The camera looks down at the subject from above eye level. | Shrink a character, survey a table, or read a floor plan of action. |
| low-angle shot | The camera looks up at the subject from below eye level. | Enlarge power, monumentality, or menace. |
| worm's-eye | An extreme low angle from ground level, often with sky or ceiling dominating. | The world should tower over the viewer. |
| overhead shot | A top-down frame perpendicular to the floor, sometimes called bird’s-eye. | Maps of movement, ritual layouts, and graphic tableaus. |
| central framing | The subject sits on the optical center, often with symmetry around them. | Portraits of control, ceremony, and ordered tableau. |
| rule of thirds | Key masses sit on the intersections of a three-by-three grid. | Default for landscapes and talking heads that should feel natural. |
| leading lines | Architecture, roads, or light beams steer the eye to the subject. | A location can point at the character without extra camera work. |
| negative space | A large empty field around a small subject. | Loneliness, waiting, or a title-safe graphic beat. |
| frame within a frame | Doorways, windows, mirrors, or screens crop a second picture inside the shot. | Trap a character, spy on them, or stack two story worlds. |
| profile shot | The subject is seen from the side, silhouetting nose, brow, and posture. | Confrontations, cameos against windows, and non-humanoid identity sheets. |
| three-quarter view | The face or body is turned about 45 degrees from the camera. | Most dimensional default for portraits and product heroes. |
| insert shot | A brief close view of a relevant object or action detail. | Plant a clue, a text, a button press, or a ticking clock. |
| cutaway | A shot of something other than the main action, used to bridge or comment. | Hide an edit, show reaction in the room, or add documentary evidence. |
