The Photographer's Eye: Graphic Guide

TWO SHOT

One of the classic shots, particularly in cinema and television, where interviews and conversations feature strongly, is what is known as the “two shot:” two people, usually framed tight-to-medium, so that their faces dominate. Widescreen suits this arrangement very well, because it allows the pair to be side by side with breathing space. One of the points of a two shot is that there’s a relationship between the subjects, and it’s often good to manage the composition so that the viewer’s eye moves back and forth between them—in other words, the shot is active rather than static. This is Chinese opera, photographed onstage, and deliberately with selective focus at a wide aperture, ƒ/1.4 with an 85mm portrait lens. Both the focus and the ...