How to Get the Most Out of Every Shot

Tight Shots and Close-Ups

The third step in the sequence is perhaps the most detailed shot you’ll capture. It’s the tight shot or the close-up, which is just what it sounds like, an intimate framing of a subject (Figure 4, below).

Figure 4. The close-up

For these shots, you’ll want to zoom in or physically get as close as possible to the subject. If you’re looking to achieve a shallow depth of field and separate the subject from the background, then try using a wide aperture of f/2.0 or 2.8. If the subject becomes too bright, then one technique I use is to turn on my neutral density filter until I’m happy with the exposure. You can also try to lower the ISO if your camera doesn’t have built-in ND filters.

The close-up is one of the best ways to emotionally grab an audience. Maybe it’s a teardrop, someone’s eyes, a scar, wrinkles, hand gestures, or tattoos. These intimate details are what many viewers will remember when watching your videos. They also give the audience a unique perspective, as we’re not often seeing things that close in everyday life (Figure 5, below).

Figure 5. A tight shot

These tight shots and close-ups have saved me in post-production on countless projects. Everyone’s been in a situation where they were a shot short or something just didn’t come together as they envisioned. I’ve relied on these close-ups to cover these areas time and again. They’re very easy to work with, and they can often help complement your story rather than interrupt it.

Pans and Tilts

After capturing a wide, medium, and tight shot of a scene, I’ll add some motion. Preferably with a high-quality, fluid-head tripod, I’ll do several pans and tilts from left to right, up and down, and right to left of the scene.

Here’s a bonus tip: Apply the same wide, medium, and tight-shot sequence to these pans and tilts. This will give you a plethora of shots to choose from in post-production. The pans and tilts will add some movement to your coverage and can help reveal objects in your composition.

There are even more methods to get creative with pans and tilts. One technique is to use a whip effect. Essentially, this fast-moving pan or tilt blurs the image during the move, so that the effect can transition into a different scene.

You’ll want to pan or tilt the camera in the same direction for each scene you want connect. Then, you’ll merge the scenes during their blurriest points in post-production. This will take some practice, but it’s an easy effect to achieve and you can plan for it ahead of time.

Following this formula will give you a wide variety of shots and angles to use to bring your video to life. It can help you capture a lot of coverage in a short amount of time without feeling overwhelmed.