A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (2023)

I have put together a rough guide to implementing different shot types in Midjourney and the resulting images.

I queried ChatGPT for appropriate f-stop and lens combinations for each type of shot so please don’t consider this guide as authorative.

The specific prompt I used is directly under each image (in the caption area). I typically specified an aspect ratio of 3:2 and set chaos to 0 to maintain similarity amongst the images.

For an extreme long shot, a wide aperture (low f-stop number) is typically used to increase the depth of field, allowing more of the image to be in focus. A wide-angle lens, such as a wide-angle zoom lens or a fish-eye lens, is often used to achieve an extreme long shot. An aperture between f/4 to f/8 with a wide-angle lens such as 14mm or a aperture between f/8 to f/11 with a 24mm lens could be used.

I found it necessary to put a background setting for the extreme long shot images.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (1)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (2)

This is a shot that is taken from a distance, showing the subject in their entirety and their surroundings. It is used to give the viewer a sense of the subject’s environment and to establish the scene.

For a long shot, a wide aperture (low f-stop number) is often used to increase the depth of field, allowing more of the image to be in focus. A wide-angle lens, such as a wide-angle zoom lens or a fish-eye lens, is often used to achieve a long shot. An aperture between f/4 to f/8 with a wide-angle lens such as 14mm or a aperture between f/8 to f/11 with a 24mm lens could be used.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (3)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (4)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (5)

For a medium shot, a medium aperture (medium f-stop number) is often used to create a medium depth of field, allowing some of the image to be in focus while blurring the background. A medium-telephoto lens, such as a 50mm lens or a 85mm lens, is often used to achieve a medium shot. An aperture between f/5.6 to f/11 with a 50mm lens or a aperture between f/8 to f/16 with a 85mm lens could be used.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (6)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (7)

Medium Shot with Single Subject

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (8)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (9)

This is a shot that is taken from close to the subject, often showing only part of the subject’s face or body. It is used to create intimacy and to focus the viewer’s attention on the subject’s emotions.

For a close-up shot, a narrow aperture (high f-stop number) is often used to create a shallow depth of field, allowing only a small portion of the image to be in focus while blurring the background. A telephoto lens, such as a 85mm lens or a 100mm lens, is often used to achieve a close-up shot. An aperture between f/11 to f/16 with a 100mm lens or a aperture between f/16 to f/22 with a 50mm lens could be used.

I have also switched to a single subject.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (10)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (11)

This is a shot that is taken very close to the subject, often showing only a small part of the subject, such as an eye or mouth. It is used to create intense focus on the subject’s emotions or actions.

For an extreme close-up shot, a narrow aperture (high f-stop number) is often used to create a shallow depth of field, allowing only a small portion of the image to be in focus while blurring the background. A lens with a longer focal length, such as a macro lens or a telephoto lens, is often used to achieve an extreme close-up shot. An aperture between f/11 to f/16 with a 100mm lens or a aperture between f/16 to f/22 with a 50mm lens could be used.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (12)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (13)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (14)

For a low angle shot, you’ll want to use a wide aperture (low f-stop number) to create a shallow depth of field, which will help to blur the background and make the subject stand out. A wide-angle lens, such as a 14mm or 24mm lens, can be used to achieve a low angle shot. An aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6 with a wide-angle lens would be appropriate.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (15)

Some other examples of low angle shots:

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (16)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (17)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (18)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (19)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (20)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (21)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (22)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (23)

For a high angle shot, you’ll want to use a wide aperture (low f-stop number) to create a shallow depth of field, which will help to blur the background and make the subject stand out. A wide-angle lens, such as a 14mm or 24mm lens, can be used to achieve a high angle shot. An aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6 with a wide-angle lens would be appropriate.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (24)

For a night shot, you’ll want to use a wide aperture (low f-stop number) to let in as much light as possible, which will help to capture the scene in low light conditions. A fast lens, such as a lens with a wide aperture like f/1.4, f/1.8 or f/2.8 is ideal. A wide-angle or standard lens, such as a 24mm or 50mm lens, can be used to achieve a night shot.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (25)

For a silhouette shot, you’ll want to use a wide aperture (low f-stop number) to create a shallow depth of field, which will help to blur the background and make the subject stand out. A lens with a longer focal length, such as a telephoto lens, can be used to achieve a silhouette shot. An aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6 with a telephoto lens such as 70–200mm would be appropriate.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (26)

For a wide shot, you’ll want to use a wide aperture (low f-stop number) to increase the depth of field, allowing more of the image to be in focus. A wide-angle lens, such as a wide-angle zoom lens or a fish-eye lens, is often used to achieve a wide shot. An aperture between f/4 to f/8 with a wide-angle lens such as 14mm or a aperture between f/8 to f/11 with a 24mm lens could be used.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (27)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (28)

A wide-angle lens, such as a 14mm, 18mm, or 24mm lens, can be used to capture a wide shot. These lenses have a wide angle of view, which allows them to capture a large area in the frame. An aperture between f/4 and f/8 would be appropriate for a wide shot.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (29)

A zoom lens with a wide aperture, such as a 16–35mm f/2.8 or 24–70mm f/2.8, can be used to capture a wide shot. These lenses can be zoomed out to capture a wide angle of view, and the wide aperture allows for a shallow depth of field. An aperture between f/2.8 and f/4 would be appropriate for a wide shot.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (30)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (31)

This is taken from directly above the subject and is used to show the subject’s surroundings or to create a sense of detachment or objectivity.

For an overhead shot, you would generally want to use a lens with a wide angle of view and a large depth of field (DOF). This will allow you to capture a wide area of the scene and keep everything in focus, from the foreground to the background.

To achieve this, you would typically use a wide-angle lens and a small f-stop number (such as f/8 or f/11) that will create a large depth of field. The f-stop number controls the aperture of the lens, which affects the amount of light that enters the camera and the size of the lens opening. A smaller f-stop number corresponds to a larger lens opening, which allows more light to enter the camera and creates a larger depth of field.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (32)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (33)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (34)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (35)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (36)

First Person Views

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (37)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (38)

I hope you find this guide useful. In some sense, I wanted to create a guide that I could easily refer to and see what the expected results might be. I set the aspect ratio to 3:2 and chaos to 0 so that the images would generally be similar.

Here is a novel view — a view from an airplane.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (39)

Alternatively, an aerial view:

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (40)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (41)

In addition, it is not directly related but to get negative space around an image, I found it was necessary to have a subject, as well as a specific background.

A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (42)
A Guide to Using Different Shot Types in Midjourney, including Close-up, Medium-shot, Long-Shots (43)

FAQs

What is the difference between medium close-up and medium shot? ›

A medium close-up of a character shows the person from approximately the chest or shoulders to the top of the head. Medium close-up shots are slightly wider than close-ups and closer than medium shots. As with all shots referring to the human body, the separation points between these shot sizes are not exactly defined.

What is the difference between medium close-up and close-up? ›

Medium Close-Up Falls between a Medium Shot and a Close-Up, generally framing the subject from chest or shoulder up. Close-Up Fills the screen with part of the subject, such as a person's head/face. Framed this tightly, the emotions and reaction of a character dominate the scene.

What are medium close-up shots used for? ›

The medium close-up is the Goldilocks of shot types because it puts the audience at just the right distance from the subjects' faces. It's perfect for capturing scenes of people talking to the camera or each other or performing other relatively stationary activities.

What is the difference between extreme close-up shot and medium shot? ›

A close-up is an extreme, or tight, camera angle that shows only one part of the subject (usually a person). What is this? A medium close-up shot is a type of photo that closely frames the subject's face. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device.

What is an example of a medium shot? ›

A medium shot, mid-shot, MS, or waist-shot is a camera shot that shows an actor from the top of their head to roughly their waist. This camera shot shows less than a wide shot but more than a close-up shot.

When would you use a medium shot? ›

A medium shot is used to emphasize both the actor and their surroundings by giving them an equal presence on screen. The director of photography uses a medium shot to clearly show the actor's face and emotions while still informing the audience of what's going on in the world around them.

What is considered a close-up shot? ›

A close-up shot is a camera shot in which most—if not all—of the frame is filled with an and actor's face or an important feature, detail, or object. The main purpose of a close-up is to convey information; it's the filmmaker's way of telling the audience, visually, that this is important.

What is a close-up shot type? ›

A close-up shot is a type of camera shot size in film and television that adds emotion to a scene. It tightly frames an actor's face, making their reaction the main focus in the frame. The director of photography films a close-up with a long lens at a close range.

Why would you use a close-up shot? ›

The close-up shot is usually used to: Express a significant emotion. Identify a moment of extreme importance to the story. Capture nuances on the actor's face that the audience might otherwise miss in longer or wider shots.

What are long and medium shots? ›

Medium long shots are commonly used for group shots, two shots, and emblematic shots, because they provide enough room in the frame to include several characters or visual elements simultaneously. While the long shot emphasizes the body language of a character and the surrounding area, the size of the medium ...

What is a Medium 2 shot in film? ›

Classic two shots are shot with a medium lens, head to knees or closer (the term two shot is shorthand for "medium two shot"), and show the characters so that both of their faces can be clearly seen.

How do you take a medium shot photo? ›

Simply put, a medium shot is a shot which stretches from around the waist (or sometimes the knees) of a subject up to the head. It's neither too wide (which would be from the feet or below up) or too close (which would be only from the chest up). Yes, a medium shot is shot from a medium distance.

How many shots is a medium format? ›

Number of Shots per Roll

A roll of 35mm has 24-36 shots on it. A roll of 120 film has 10-15 shots, depending on the size you're shooting. With the 645 size, you have 15 shots per roll; with 6 x 6, you have 12 shots; and with 67, you only have 10 shots.

What lens is best for medium shot? ›

A medium shot frames a character from their waist up. It should be considered a personal shot, as it frames a character so it appears that the audience is in a conversation with them. If you were going to choose a lens for this type of shot, you'd most likely use something between a 35mm and 50mm.

What are close-up shots quizlet? ›

Close-up shot. subject's head and perhaps shoulders fills the frame, little of the surroudings is shown. Medium close-up shot. subject fills most of the frame, but not as much as a close-up shot, shoulders up of the human body is shown. Medium Shot.

What is the longest close-up shot? ›

43m. Five years after CLOSE-UP, Mahmoud Chokrollahi made this intimate portrait of the film's principal figure, Hossein Sabzian, which consists of conversations and interviews with Sabzian and people who know him.

What does close-up mean in photography? ›

Close up photography refers to a tightly cropped shot that shows a subject (or object) up close and with significantly more detail than the human eye usually perceives. With close up photography, you reduce the field of view, increasing the size of the subject, and creating a tight frame around your selected shot.

What is the definition of close-up in art? ›

A framing technique, originating in photography (but present in film and television), which offers a very close and detailed view of an object or person.

What is a medium shot quizlet? ›

In film, a medium shot, mid shot (MS), or waist shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. Full Shot. Full shot is another name for wide shot or long shot. It shows the subject fully, from head to toe (in the case of a person).

What is a long shot example? ›

I hope to double my profits, but I know that's a long shot. The horse was a long shot, but we bet on him anyway. She always bets on long shots at the racetrack.

How do you abbreviate close-up shot? ›

Most filmmakers use standard names for shot sizes, often abbreviated into 2 or 3 letters on a shot list or storyboard. For example, a close up shot would be abridged to "CU," or a wide shot would be denoted as "WS."

What do medium shots mean? ›

The medium shot, sometimes also called a mid-shot or waist shot, is a film shot that stretches from around the waist (or sometimes the knees) of a subject up to their head. (Sometimes people also use it to refer to full-length views.)

Is it worth shooting medium format film? ›

While 35mm film cameras are a great starting point, it's well worth moving into medium format. Medium format cameras capture stunning image resolution and are just as intuitive to use and work with as their small format cousins.

What is a medium shot in a graphic novel? ›

A medium shot (also referred to as MS), or waist shot is captured at a medium distance from the subject. It is used for dialogue scenes, but also depict body language and more of the setting. Oftentimes it will frame multiple subjects as well as a portion of the background and space in general.

What is the close shot? ›

As the term suggests, the close shot stat decides the player's ability to shoot standing still within 10 meters of the basket. The stat also influences a player's ability to post hooks, make alley-oops and put back attempts on target.

Is medium format better than 35mm? ›

Most consider the biggest disadvantage of 35mm film, compared to medium format, to be the resolution. If you print your images large, the maximum size you can print a 35MM negative will be exponentially smaller than an image made on 120 film without up-resing your image.

What's better 35mm or medium format? ›

With about 4 times the surface of the 35mm film format, the medium format can be enlarged significantly without losing quality. Artists often use the medium format size for large prints because it has less apparent grain and finer details. Also, it has better tonality (smoother gradations).

Is medium format the same as 35mm? ›

While a full-frame camera uses a 35mm film or mimics it with a 36x24mm sensor, a medium format camera has a sensor larger than 36mm and smaller than 100x130mm (the large format sensor size). The difference in sensor size dictates differences in image quality, weight, and price.

Is medium format better than full-frame? ›

Medium format cameras are a bit more expensive, but they offer even better image quality than full frame cameras. If you're looking for the best possible image quality, then a medium format camera is the way to go.

What is medium format? ›

In photography, medium format simply refers to a camera that has a larger sensor than a 35mm (24x36mm), or full frame DSLR camera.

What are the different medium format sizes? ›

Medium Format Film

Medium format is also known as 120 film. It is 6 cm wide and different cameras shoot different variations of frame length. There is 6×4.5, 6×6, 6×7, 6×9 and panoramic 6×17.

Why are close-up shots used? ›

Close-ups draw the audience's attention to the main characters and communicate the importance of their presence, reactions, and/or behavior. They can also draw attention to specific objects that add context, drive the narrative, and help the audience better understand the story. 5.

What is the medium of film in art? ›

As a medium, film is unique because it captures life in a way that cannot be captured through other forms of art, like painting or photography. Experimental film is a term for moving images that explore the human condition, nature, or fantasy in ways that haven't been traditionally explored before.

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