Framing Shots

What are the key differences between full, medium and close up shots? How does this apply to over the shoulder shots? Two shots? How do different lenses effect these shots?

Full: Shows the entire body from head to toe. Does not cut off any part of the body

Medium: Framing above the waist area

Close up: Frames just the subject's head

Over the shoulder shots can have a closeup over the shoulder, a medium over the shoulder, or a full body over the shoulder. Two shots can also have variations such as the closeup two shot, medium two shot, and a full body two shot.

Using different lenses for different types of framing of a shot adds or takes away from the depth of the scene. For example, a medium shot using a 50mm lens tends to have a more blurry background compared to a medium shot using a wide angle lens. The framing of the shot has nothing to do with the type of lens one is using, but it provides unique feelings to each shot. When using different types of lenses, one must make sure that they are standing in the correct position for their desired framing because each of the lenses have different degrees of magnification.