How To Create Perfect Camera Expressions

Basic Rules for Creating Professional Images in Photo, Film, Video

© Pierre A. Kandorfer

Sep 13, 2009

Each photographer must be able to “see” the picture the way his camera technique reproduces it. The recorded picture is - for a long series of technical and other reasons - not a 1:1 copy of the actual reality. No photographer should forget that.

Whoever intends to operate your own camera, write or direct professional videos, he must attend at least a basic photography class before getting started. If talented, a wide variety of excellent photography books are available on the market for your self-study too.

How to See Photographically

Every photographer education should include training how to see “photographically”. The person behind the viewfinder must exactly know how the picture is going to turn out. Only the result counts. The photographer must disregard his personal impression of any specific scenery because this might be highly subjective.

Camera is theoretically photographer’s eye, but it becomes the eye of his audience. He is virtually “watching” on behalf of his viewers. There are two basic ways to see the world and use your camera:

Observing camera is basically just “watching” the action from several different standpoints. This is a mostly neutral, “objective” way of presentation.

Persuasive camera is trying to persuade, influence, affect your audience with close-up, bold frames, unusual angles, definitive colors, short cuts or fast, montage-like editing. Here is the camera not just an observer – but also an important part of the action. It gets your viewers emotionally “involved” in the process.

Important Terminology

Every person associates specific objects i.e. with sounds, smells, particular memories and more. This substantially taints person’s impression and judgment and leads to completely wrong decisions.

Let’s mention some of the most basic video production terminology:

1. Frame is the smallest “unit” of a video picture. It means “one frame” out of thirty frames (US NTSC standard) or out of 25 frames (PAL standard) per second. This is important for “frame accurate” digital editing. However, frame can also mean the size or format of the actual “picture frame” around the object – or the “positioning” of the object within the frame called “framing the object.
2. Image is our visual perception of the picture.
3. Take or shot is continuous recorded single video piece from “start” to “stop” of the camcorder.
4. Scene is an edited compilation of several shots composing a single topic or location.
5. Sequence is a long scene or a group of scenes building a chapter-like unit.

Analyzing All Factors

1. A good photography class is an absolute minimum if you intend to manage your camera work. You can learn hot to see your picture “photographically” by analyzing the following aspects:
2. Composition – not any accidental composition, compose your picture decisively
3. Lighting – not just quantity, quality
4. Color – not just any color, appropriate color
5. Proportion – not any proportion of one object to another will do, arrange them by using a different camera distance or lens angle
6. Angle – not just “normal” view, use unusual angles
7. Perspective – not any perspective, your specific perspective that produces your desired composition
8. Frame size choice – not any frame, select a frame that shows exactly what is important

Camera Angle

1. Low camera angle suggests superiority and arrogance of the people shown. Totalitarian dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Castro or Chavez loved “looking down” on the people. This angle gave them the appearance of being “above” the common people. Russian propaganda films use this tool to display the “brutality and arrogance” of czar’s soldiers.
2. High camera angle suggests just the opposite: inferiority, smallness, being poor or unimportant and embarrassed. Beggars and the “underclass” appear looking up in many movies. Early Russian propagandists portrayed the under-privileged masses this way.

Very Basic Photo Rules

As everybody can easily discover, some objects are “photogenic” – some are not. There are some basic rules how to make your picture more appealing:

1. Less is more – no clutter
2. Make it plain in every aspect
3. The background should never “kill” the main object in foreground
4. The composition must be clearly “organized”
5. Advanced photographers arrange the proportions of each object to each other objects by changing the focal length and camera position
6. Contrasts make your picture more interesting
7. Big, clearly visible forms are nicer
8. Bold graphic lines are appealing
9. Sharp objects in front of out-of-focus background look good
10. Objects with special character and individuality always impress people
11. Formal picture composition is never out of style
12. Repeating graphic lines give the picture an interesting touch
13. Static arrangements must be avoided - movement produces dynamic impression

These are some very basic rules. There is excellent literature on the market. One of the latest is the “Digital Video Production Handbook”, which is available as an e-book very inexpensively online.

Movie Setting at Alabama Hills

High Camera Angle

Low Camera Angle

Framing Pictures Perfectly

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