writing with a camera

Documentary Shooting Guidelines

Thrown together by David Tamés, based on a post on Kino-Eye.com, February 12, 2018, most recently updated September 12, 2024.

Introduction

Good video is not the result of having the latest camera, support gizmo, etc. Ultimately engaging with your participants, good composition, smooth movement, and clean sound are the most important components of the shooting process. Here are a bakers dozen of guidelines to assist your production practice and in your reflection on your work using bookartbookshop, a short documentary that I shot and was edited by Christine Carron (a former student) with music by Tom Phillips and Tom Martin and end credits by Alice Apley.

1. Do Not Keep Your Distance

Do not keep your distance and zoom in to get different shots, but discover the normal to wide range of the lens and get in close to your subjects. You will discover the beauty of the close-up and the mobility of the camera, getting really close with interesting and unusual angles will help you develop your own visual style.

2. Depth

Seek Interesting Foreground and Background Elements in Your Frame. Position yourself to get the angle plus angle so that you show the three dimensionality of your image. This may mean ducking down or looming above your subject, if appropriate, play around until you find the most pleasing angle. It’s not just your subject in the frame, both the background and the foreground play an important part of the story too, you need to be aware of frame, angle, foreground, and foreground at the same time. In most cases avoid shooting subjects in front of a plain wall unless you want a floating in limbo effect.

3. Shot Size

The size of the object in the frame is relative to its importance. This also means that the space around the subject should be significant, so don’t float your subject in a lot of space if you don’t need to. Do not be shy of using partial images of an object, as this suggests that the image continues offscreen. Use the standard shot sizes for the human figure. Remember that due to the size of the screen on which many people will watch videos (mobile devices and computer screens) you should favor the close-up end of the spectrum. Use a close up if in doubt. Avoid the natural divisions of the body, e.g. don’t give a lollipop shot of the head, try to include a hint of shoulder. Avoid excessive headroom. Give subjects some space to talk into whenever appropriate to the left or right.

4. Variety of Shots

Cover the action using a variety of shots in terms of both shot sizes and locations. You should points of overlapping action or good starting and end frames when there is camera movement so that it will be easier to edit them together. Variety is the spice of life and in the editing room you’re going to be cursing yourself if you don’t come back with a variety of shots.

5. Rule of Thirds

Compose your frames using the rule of thirds will help you produce more pleasing, balanced compositions. This may require that you shift your framing to attain the best composition after you’ve zoomed in to focus and then zoomed back. This is a good rule to learn, then break it whenever needed.1

6. Lighting

Always consider lighting in your shots, however, this does not mean you need lots of gear. Open curtains. Choose to shoot scenes outside during the morning or evening when lighting is best because the sun is at an angle instead of directly overhead. A key light coming from the side or behind the subject is more pleasing than harsh overhead light. Don’t shoot someone in front of a window unless you’re using it as side lighting, or when you can provide sufficient interior light to compensate for the window. If its too sunny try to find a position in the shade, away from direct sunlight. Side lighting is always more beautiful, position your subjects so that they are lit by the natural light coming from a side window.

7. Hold Still

Keeping your camera still (or moving slowly and smoothly) while rolling may very well be the most important rule. If you move the camera, move from one well composed shot to the other, and make sure the move is smooth and motivated. Make sure to provide each shot with a head and tail to make editing easier. Editing means the action is revealed in the cut, not in the movement of the camera. Avoid the fire hose technique: searching left and right with the camera never still for a moment. Avoid your natural instinct to dart left and right and up and down and discipline yourself to count for seven seconds one thousand, two thousand… until you have your shot. It’s OK if your subject enters or exits the frame, those will provide you with great cutting points later. Resist the urge to always follow your subject, but again, like any rule, break this if it makes sense. Keeping the camera still does not mean you can’t move from composition A to composition B, however, you should stay on A and B long enough to have choices when editing.

8. Movement

Video is about time and space, the frame is rarely static like photography. Therefore, think about the role of movement, shapes, texture, dimension, etc. as components of your storytelling, find ways to incorporate the spectacular visuals that are available to you in terms of sequences that follow one another over time. Look for those shots that help tell your story in a visual manner. Each shot is part of a sequence helping to create meaning though the juxtaposition of shots. Take time to appreciate the wonder of the visual landscape that surrounds you, and any natural sequences you observe along the way, what are the processes change over time in the realm you’re observing? The moving sun? Machinery? Traffic? Wind? Pedestrians?

9. Sound

Sound is the other half of the picture. In addition to shooting interviews, cutaways, and b-roll, record sound effects and ambient sounds that help create the aural texture of a place, situation, or event. Take time to appreciate the wonder of the aural landscape that surrounds you, the sounds of the environment you’re shooting in will add to the emotional, evocative quality of your work. In most circumstances, built-in camera mic audio is going to suck unless you are shooting close to the subject and in a very quiet room. If you’re not using an external microphone, plan your video so that you can use sound that you recorded afterward in a quiet location. But always get the best ambient sound you can.

For interviews, position your microphone (preferably an external one) as close to the sound source as possible. If you are placing a lavaliere mic on a subject, place it in the upper chest area. When you record dialogue on location, always make sure the background is quiet. If you can ask people to stop making a noise, go ahead and take this extra step. When shooting outdoors, shield the microphone with a windjammer to avoid wind noise. When shooting indoors, close windows and doors, switch off sources of noise like air conditioners. For mobile subjects, lavaliere microphones with wireless transmitters are the way to go. If shooting outdoors, always use a windshield. I don’t mind seeing a carefully placed lavaliere microphone on a subject, however, some people prefer to hide them, which takes a little more time and effort, as you want to avoid the sound of clothing rubbing against the microphone.

10. Mixing Cameras

Don’t be afraid of mixing cameras. The old rule was “shoot everything with the same camera so shots match.” Hogwash! Shoot with both your smartphone and a hybrid camera (e.g. Sony a7iii). It’s good to mix footage from different cameras to add a variety of textures to your work. In addition, since each type of camera has its own strengths and weaknesses, take the time to understand the differences as this will expand your visual palette.

11. Video Format

Shoot in a progressive video format and avoid shooting in an interlaced format if your camera provides the option.2 Choose an aspect ratio based on your release platform, producer’s requirements, or course requirements. A 16x9 horizontal frame is the standard for most videos and the requirement for most work in my classes. A 9x16 portrait frame is the standard for social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Decide on whether you’re going to shoot your project in 30p or 24p and learn the pros and cons of these two formats (that could be an entire handout in and of itself). For slow-motion, shoot at 60p or 120p because you can’t recreate the added frames needed to create slow motion in post-production with the same quality as shooting at high speed in the first place.

12. Focus, Exposure, and White Balance

Be meticulous when it comes to good focus, proper white balance, and correct exposure. Learn how to get the most out of autofocus (e.g. touch focus and tracking focus). Proper white balance and correct exposure will makes it easier to color correct and color grade your shots. In most cases, it is better to start with correct exposure and color balanced video, and then create a look during the color grading phase where you can try things and back out changes. Overexposing or underexposing video results in the permanent loss of highlight or shadow details, respectively. Learn how to use the exposure tools provided by your camera (e.g. zebras or waveform monitor). Don’t depend on the camera’s light meter or histogram, these are not as accurate as working with zebras. Most cameras provide two zebras. I find it useful to have one set at 90% white for highlights and the other set for 18% middle gray for my mid-tones.

For example, the shot above was tricky to shoot. Bright window (daylight color temperature) and interior lit by tungsten color balanced incandescent fixtures. For white balance I split the difference between tungsten and daylight. For exposure, I relied on zebras to make sure the face was properly exposed, letting the window blow out, as the face and interior of the bookshop was far more important that the outdoors.

13. Practice, Practice, Practice

Practice makes perfect. It takes a lot of shooting to become comfortable observing events and shooting interviews. It’s like learning to play a musical instrument, you have to practice a lot and you will eventually develop an intuitive feel for the craft of writing with a camera. I want to end with one of my favorite quotes, which sums up for me the essential attitude of an observational documentary maker:

The making of sequences is, for me, at the heart of film making. I had always assumed that you just got the bits of an action and put it together and Bingo! you have a sequence. But there are all kinds of things that you may want to convey with a sequence and it was not until I worked as cameraman on Robert Flaherty’s Louisiana Story that I started to learn from him, the complexity of this process. […] We shot and shot. If something appealed to us, never mind that it wasn’t in the script, film it. A beautiful cloud, swallows wheeling through the sky preparing to migrate, a water-lily pad with a drop of water on it in perfect light, a spider completing the building of its web. Often the camera in motion or panning and tilting, no rules except look, look through the camera lens, search. — Ricky Leacock3

Acknowledgement: These guidelines are based, in part, on guidelines developed by Alette Schoon, Lecturer in Television Production, Rhodes University, South Africa.

Footnotes

  1. For a good discussion of the pros and cons of this approach, see Nasim Mansurov, “What is the Rule of Thirds? A Guide for Beginners,” Photography Life, November 13, 2025, web. ↩

  2. For an entertaining explanation of Interlaced video, see See “CD / Interlacing” (Captain Disillusion, YouTube, June 3, 2019), video. ↩

  3. Richard Leacock “A Search for the Feeling of Being There,” unpublished essay, May 20, 1997, download PDF. ↩

Backlinks