It's All About the Camera Positions… Literally

When looking at a picture, how many people focus on the camera positions? The norm is for people to not focus on that at all. Hence, ladies and gentlemen, we have been looking at pictures wrong our whole lives! The camera positions are VITAL! Each position has a different meaning and they are used in pictures, movies, tv shows, etc.  They are seen everywhere in the media.  In the next three pictures you will see the following shots:

• Over-the-Shoulder Shot
• Point-of-View Shot (I)
• Point-of-View Shot (II)

The Over-the-Shoulder shot is one of the most common shots seen in pictures and motion pictures.  It occurs when the camera is placed behind the shoulders of the character.  This allows the observer to see the character's head and shoulders.  Usually a second character is seen in the shot and it is the subject of interest.  Instead of having two different close-ups of each character, the author chooses to have both characters present in one shot.  This makes it easier for the viewer to understand what is occurring.  For example, in this picture my mother is speaking to Mercedes.  You can see that Mercedes and my mom have a close relationship by Mercedes' facial expression and both of their postures.  If there were a previous scene before this one, they would most likely be laughing or Mercedes would have called my mom.  

This second photo represent the first Point-of-View (pov) shot.  This type of shot is used so that the audience can see the subjective view of the specific character.  "The camera lens is physically placed at the eye level of the character whose point-of-view we are seeing" (10).  In this photo I am the character so we are seeing my point-of-view.  We are looking at my foot in a pointe shoe as I check if it fits or not.  

This third photo is a demonstration of the second Point-of-View shot.  It consists of the same things and ideas that the first pov shot has.  The only difference is the change in character.  For this photo, the main character is my mom.  She is looking directly at my foot to see how the pointe shoe looks.  She is making sure it fits perfectly.