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the grouping of eyes, nose, and mouth—the figure of the scene.

Be careful when framing subjects too tightly, though. An interview with a welfare mother who has had her food stamps stolen could be a close-up of her face to show the viewer her emotion. However, the same type of shot in an interview with a city official re- garding an upcoming change in street signs would not have the same meaning. Reserve the close-up of faces only for emotional or dramatic subjects. Children are the biggest exception to this rule—they almost always look good in close-ups.

Use caution not to overdo the facial close-up. It is basic conditioning to zoom in for a tight face shot when the grieving mother of a dead child starts to cry. While some may argue that the emphasis is needed to convey the full impact of emotion to the viewer, there is also the argument that this type of shot is an uncar- ing, vulgar invasion of the woman’s privacy. It may in- deed be more dramatic to zoom out from such a scene to give the subject some space, if only symbolically.

TV is the best medium for conveying emotions, es- pecially in news photography. Ethical principles sug- gest that the emotions portrayed should be true to your subject (accuracy), but they also should not be of- fensive to your viewing audience (do no harm). Some subjects deserve more respect than to have their worst moments seen larger than life in everyone’s living room. The moral values or degree of good taste you ex- press in your shooting should be the same as you would express any time in your life. The tight head shot can be a powerful tool both artistically and emo- tionally, but you must be careful how and when you use it.

Effects of Background and Focal Length In some

cases, the background can be of such importance that the framing or placement of the subject in the frame is dictated by that background. The best setup for an in- terview with a farmer about a flooded field may be a wide shot of the field that includes the standing farmer (remember how a single vertical figure can dominate). The farmer may be framed head to toe, and if you place the farmer on the edge of the flooded field (rule of thirds), the impact is enhanced from both a visual and informational point of view. An interview back- ground should add to—not distract from—the inter- viewee (figure–ground principle). If an appropriate

background cannot be found, then choose a neutral one, or use a focal length that produces a depth of field shallow enough to take the background out of focus.

When setting up an interview shot with a specific background, first choose the background. Add the subject to the shot. If the subject does not conform to the framing rules mentioned at the beginning of this section, do not bend the rules, but “tweak” the camera location and/or focal length to satisfy the framing con- cepts. A very common misuse of background and sub- ject occurs when the photographer tries to put a sign over the shoulder of the subject. If the sign is too high, many new photographers shoot the interview from a low angle or frame the shot so that the subject’s eyes are below the middle of the screen. Both generally pro- duce a very uncomfortable shot and overemphasize the sign (again, figure–ground). Never let the eyes of the interviewee or the interviewer go below the horizontal midpoint of the screen. Simply move the camera and subject farther from the sign so that the sign can be placed in the deep background to maintain good framing. Do not force bad framing on your subject just to get a “good” background. A little experimenta- tion usually shows a way to make both satisfactory.

The Reporter Stand-up Shot

Thestand-up shot is a specialized version of the inter- view shot used especially in TV news. For EFP, this concept can be used for any on-camera appearance by a narrator who is talking directly to the audience. Be- cause of this direct address to the audience, the fram- ing of the stand-up is very important. A general rule for this shot is never to frame the subject looser than the waist up or tighter than the breast pocket top. This allows the viewer to have good eye contact with the talent and feel a personal link, which helps establish credibility.

If the shot is framed too loosely, the importance of the subject can be reduced or even lost in the back- ground and the impact is greatly reduced. (See Figure 4-22.) Again, there are ways around this, if careful at- tention is given to the rules of composition. The talent must be the focus of the shot, or why else have him or her in it? Background is important, but very much a secondary part of the picture. The subject’s mono- logue should help design the shot and determine the

88 Chapter 4: Part Two: Composition—Aesthetic Considerations

type of background used. If the script is general, then the background should be as well. If the script deals with a power plant, however, perhaps the power plant should be in the background.

Many of the same rules that apply to the interview shot apply also to the stand-up shot, such as placing the subject correctly in relation to the background and keeping the subject’s eyes above the middle of the screen. As in the interview, the best camera elevation is anormal angle, or eye level. One thing this does is place any visible portion of the horizon at the eye level of the subject. The horizon line running through the picture directly behind the eyes of the on-camera sub- ject draws added interest to their face. This is good. (See Figure 4-23.) Any other angle tends to be either unflattering or can add or subtract too much impor- tance from other elements in the picture.

Sometimes, however, a different angle does work for example, if you are shooting a reporter in front of a field of flowers. When the camera is at eye level, the background covers about half of the frame, but the sky might be overcast and “blowing out” (overexposing) the upper portion of the frame behind the top of the head. If you raise the camera above eye level to a high angle, or below eye level to a low angle, the viewer has a different perspective on the background. In this ex-

ample, because of the brightness of the sky, a high an- gle can place the horizon line at the very top of the frame, leaving the reporter framed against nothing but flowers. This composition can be more dramatic.

The difference between the stand-up and the inter- view shot is that the subject is talking directly to the camera. The need for the implied second person, the listener, is gone. This allows you more latitude to frame the subject in different areas of the image and to fit the background in around the subject. For any off- center positions, the talent’s inside shoulder (closest to the middle of the picture) should be angled slightly away from the camera to help add a three-dimensional quality to the shot and visually direct the viewer’s eye to the return journey to the background as part of the overall eye movement. Again, the subject is always the dominant element in the frame, even if he or she is part of the background. A good rule of thumb to sim- plify stand-up framing is never to let the talent be more than six feet from the camera if you are using wide or medium focal lengths.

The stand-up shot has many variations. The most common is the walking stand-up. As with any shot, it should have a purpose. The reason for a walking stand-up shot can be as simple as adding a little movement to an otherwise static composition, or as complex as moving from one animal to another in a story about the county fair. The movement should be slow and comfortable. A relaxed walk not only pro-

Figure 4-22 The model in this picture blends into the objects of the scene, becoming part of the background. There is no separation.

Figure 4-23 Any time the camera is at eye level with the subject, the eyes should be at the horizon line. This draw’s attention to the subject’s eyes, which is desirable.

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