There are different rules of composition that should be considered in photography and filmmaking. There are those who think that just having good framing and using the best tube amp and other top-tier sound equipment will do. In reality, there is more than that.
Eye-Level Framing
If you want your shot to have equality, then it is important that the framing for your subject is at eye-level. As a matter of fact, eye-level framing is one of the common methods of framing a subject but there are couple of ways as well as reasons for breaking this rule. Of course, you’ll discover more about it as you study and do more research.
Subject Looks to Opposite Side of Frame
The rule of thumb for framing is placing the subject on left side of your frame and tell them to look to their right. Through this, it shows that they are looking towards something that is out of the frame. But if you wish to establish a different mood or atmosphere, you may opt to break this rule.
For instance, you can tell your subject to look into the same direction as your frame. That is, they are on left side of frame and looking to the left. This is going to make audience think as if they are tripped and not knowing what would happen next.
Use the Rule of Thirds
Probably, rule of thirds is the very first thing you’ve learned in cinematography/photography courses. But according to pros, there are a couple of ways of breaking it and make most use of it.
- Put the subject in the center, right in the middle of your frame. Depends on your context, this will offer balance, add tension or create calming effect.
- Go with Golden Ratio or through the Fibonacci Sequence. It looks aesthetically pleasing and fairly common too.
Leave some Headroom
When framing medium shot, it is required to leave a bit of room about the head of your subject. Now, for close-up shots, you may cut off a little part of your subject’s forehead but must leave their chin in frame.