| A | B |
|---|
| Foreground | This is the more forward part of a scene where a subject or object might be front and center. |
| Background | This is the part of a scene behind the main subject or object and is more hidden. |
| Depth | When designing what goes in front of the camera the cinematographer and director have to chose what to put in the foreground, middleground, and background to create this. |
| Shallow Depth of Field | This is the use of blurred foreground and/or blurred background to help focus your viewer's attention on one element in focus in the frame. |
| Diagonals or Lines | A composition where there is a strong or bold line running from one corner to another corner across the frame. This leads the viewer's eye through the frame. |
| Symmetry | A compositional strategy where the frame looks identical on one side of the frame as the opposite side. This creates a sense of balance in teh frame and viewers know what to focus on in the center. |
| Rule of Thirds | The photographer divides the frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically. This creates crosshairs where the lines intersect, creating visual poitns of interest. |
| Headroom | When framing a stationary or moving subject this is the appropriate space above your subject between the top of his/her head and the top of the frame. |
| Noseroom | When framing a stationary subject this is the appropriate space between the nose of your subject and the edge of the frame in front of them. This prevents a subject from appearing to walk into the edge of the frame. |
| Leadroom | When framing a subject that is in motion (walking or running) and leaving enough space between his or her nose and the edge of the frame in front of them. This space prevents a subject from appearing to walk right into the edge of the frame. |
| Balance | Placing objects strategically throughout the frame so the viewer has multiple places in an image to look around. This allows the viewer to focus on several different points in the frame. |
