The Different Types Of Cinematography Explained

When it comes to cinematographic style, there are many different routes you can take. Some filmmakers focus more heavily on having striking visuals, while others emphasize storytelling through their images. A lot of people blend both styles into one that is unique to them!

Some specialize in using slow pans or dolly shots to build suspense, while other artists use quick cuts for an energetic feel. There are so many ways to apply cinematic lighting, shading, and texture design to your videos!

In this article, we will go over some basics about light in relation to filming settings, as well as some basic tips for achieving beautiful looking night scenes. We will also talk about some easy ways to add some camera angles to your video.

Different types of cinematography

There are several different types of cinematographic styles that you can use in your photography or videography projects. Some are more popular than others, but all contribute beautifully to telling a story through pictures.

The first type is what we call documentary style filming. This is when we capture only nature, everyday life situations, and interviews with non-professional speakers or people doing things (for example, talking about their job).

These types of videos are very authentic and raw because they simply show the scene as it happens without any editing.

Another way to do this is cross-camera shooting, where one camera operator controls multiple cameras. This allows for much smoother edits later since everything is linked together.

Then there’s reportage filmmaking, which is similar to documentary style except instead of having an editor, the filmmaker adds some narration to give context and flow to the video.

A third option is action cinema, which is typically faster paced footage and shorter clips.

Night time

Another important element in cinematographic photography is night time photography. This can be done at any time of day, but it becomes more interesting as sunsets or nights. There are many ways to do this!

Sunset photos usually involve capturing both the rising and setting sun. By doing so, you get an extended exposure that allows for greater detail. You also have some light left over which helps bring out all the colors in the surrounding area.

Nighttime photographs occur when there is no direct sunlight. A common way to achieve this is by using long shutter speeds. These allow enough time for natural lighting to illuminate the scene.

Low light

A low-light situation can be tricky to work with, especially when it comes to filming natural scenes. During these times, there are usually very few lights available so you have to figure out how to make the best of what you have!

The first thing is to check if any outside sources like streetlights or car headlights can help illuminate your setting. If possible, use these to aid in lighting by finding ways to incorporate them into your film.

Another way to deal with this is using neutral density (ND) filters. These come in various densities and shades, and their purpose is to reduce the intensity of light being let in. For example, an extremely dark ND filter could be used to completely block off all but one source of light, creating more darkness for shooting in.

These types of filters should always be tested on a non-lighting device such as a computer or phone before using in high exposure areas.

High light

A high-light event occurs when there is significant natural or manufactured illumination coming from directly above the subject of your photo. Because people have a hard time ignoring things like windows, lights, cars, etc., this can be tricky to avoid.

However, with advanced photogrammetry technology, it is possible to create a virtual model of the person filming the photograph! This allows for some very interesting lighting effects you could not achieve before.

One such effect is called “high-key” photography. In this style of shooting, the face is the highest intensity area in the image. By using heavy contrast filters or neutral density (ND) filters, the face takes up most of the frame, creating an overall bright feeling.

This article will talk more about how to use ND filters in cinematographic photography, but first we must discuss something important: normal modes.

Normal mode

When talking about ND filters, what mode you put them in comes down to what kind of effect you want to get. There are two main types: full strength and attenuation.

Full Strength ND Filters let all of the light through without any extra filtering. These are great if you do not need to reduce light too much as they allow for longer exposures. However, these filters also cut down the amount of light that gets into the film/camera sensor, altering the way colors look.

Depth of field

A key part of cinematography is depth of field (DoF). DoF can be referred to as the “blurry” or “focus” area of a shot. This effect changes depending on the camera angle, subject, and intensity of light being used.

By using higher f-stops (the denominator for the focal length), you have wider coverage with focus. For example, if your depth of field was very limited at one setting, then use a second faster setting to achieve a longer range of coverage with focus.

This also applies when moving away from close up shots! When taking panning photos or filming videos, changing the f-stop size will create different levels of blur in the photo or video.