Keep subject’s EYES roughly in line with the top 1/3 line of the screen.

Keep approximately 1/3 of the screen empty – the section that the subject is looking towards should have empty space.

Subject should never appear to be talking into a wall – leave space in the direction he/she is facing (as per first two images).

Don’t leave extra space at the top of the head. When head and shoulders shot is desired, leave only a sliver of space at the top.
This particular shot should be close to the standard shot – total volume of the subject’s head fills close to 1/3 to 1/2 the volume of the screen.

Watch for important hand gestures and zoom out slowly at these moments. Don't overdo this, however, as some subjects will constantly use hand gestures.

Don’t hesitate to cut off the top of the head when zooming in – keep eyes at approximately the 1/3 line. This shot is about as close as you should ever go – do this mainly at key emotional/pivotal moments.

Other Guides:

1. Avoid most zooms and pans while subject is speaking – try to make most camera movements during QUESTIONS.
2. Avoid following the movements of the subject – if he/she leans in and out of shots momentarily – leave camera steady.
3. Zoom as slowly as possible. Set camera's zoom speed to the slowest setting and use the manual zoom on lens for quick zooms when needed.
4. Set-up initial shot to avoid conflicting background lines.
5. If camera is set to automatic focus, be extremely careful that the subject fills the CENTER to avoid focus from bounding back and forth from background to subject.
6. If camera is set to manual focus (prefered to avoid camera focus "seeking") - zoom in as tight as possible on the subject's face, focus, and then zoom back out.
7. If camera is set to automatic exposure setting, be extremely careful that the subject fills the CENTER to avoid exposure changes from different lighting of the subject and background.
8. If camera is set to manual exposure (prefered to avoid camera exposure "seeking") - zoom in as tight as possible on the subject's face, set a permananent exposure lock, and then zoom back out.