Framing and camera angle
The same subject in the same room reads completely differently from waist height than from above. Naming the camera is naming the shot.
Distance
How much of the subject is in frame.
- ['Close-up', 'Head and shoulders. Intimate, good for testimonial and profile use.']
- ['Waist up', 'The workhorse of commercial photography. Readable at small sizes and leaves room for copy.']
- ['Full body', 'Shows posture and wardrobe. Needs more resolution to survive a crop.']
- ['Wide', 'The subject in context. Best when the setting is the point.']
Height
Where the camera sits relative to the subject.
- ['Eye level', 'Neutral and trustworthy. The default for most commercial work.']
- ['Low angle', 'Looking up. Reads as authority or scale.']
- ['High angle', 'Looking down. Reads as overview, or diminishes the subject - useful for flat-lay and workspace shots.']
Common questions
Does lens language help?
Yes. '35mm' and '85mm' meaningfully change compression and background separation.
What about depth of field?
'Shallow depth of field, blurred background' separates a subject from a busy setting and is worth naming explicitly.