One of the biggest challenges that people face in Photography/Videography is not knowing what to Shoot or getting Confused/Overwhelmed while shooting on field. A simple fix to this challenge is to approach a scene with the Five shot rule.
The five shot rule basically uses five different types of shots that you can use for any situation to tell a story with the elements in the most efficient and effective way.
1) The Wide Shot
A Wide shot is primarily used for establishing ‘Where’ the subject is. This is extremely important because without establishing the scene it is really difficult to convey the story to the viewer. If you are confused as to what to shoot the next time you are on field, blindly start with wide shots establishing the scene.
2) The Action shot
After establishing where the subject is, the most sensible thing would be to show
what he’s doing and this is where an Action shot comes in. This shot mainly focuses on the action that the subject is performing without emphasis on anything else. For example, if we are talking about filming a football match, a wide shot would be establishing the stadium itself but the action shot would focus on the main action performed which is kicking the ball, dribbling etc…
3) The Close Up Shot
After the action shot comes the Close up shot, the main focus of a close up shot is
the emotions displayed by the subject.
4) POV shot
POV stands for Point of View. This shot is used to show what the subject is viewing.
This gives an immersive experience to the viewer. A very easy way of getting a POV shot is to go behind the subject and place the camera over the shoulder of the subject and you got yourself a POV shot.
5) Alternative Shot
And the final one is the Alt shot, this is where you try to think out of the box and get some creative perspective. This way you can really step up your Photo/Video game. And even if you mess this up, It’s completely alright because you have four other shots using which you can convey your story and this flexibility to mess up while experimenting gives you a lot of creative freedom.
With these five shots, you can approach any situation without confusion and tell your story the way you want to.
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