Medium ShotMS

Waist up is the distance people actually talk at. The face is large enough to read and the hands are still in frame, so gesture survives.

That combination is why it carries most dialogue coverage in most films. It is the neutral setting, and neutral is useful.

The bottom of the frame sits at or just above the waist. Both shoulders are in, with enough width that a raised hand stays inside the picture.

Lens choice is where a medium shot gets a personality. Around 35mm keeps the room present behind the subject. Around 85mm drops the room away and puts everything on the face. The crop is identical and the two shots feel nothing alike.

Use it as the default for two people talking, for anyone demonstrating something with their hands, and for the shot you cut back to between tighter frames.

Move off it when the beat is private. A medium shot holds the audience at a polite distance, which is exactly wrong for a confession.

A cowboy shot cuts lower, at mid-thigh. A medium close-up cuts higher, at the chest, and loses most of the hand movement.

The practical test is the hands. If they can rest at the waist and still be in frame, you have a medium shot.

This is the size a model defaults to when the prompt says nothing, which sounds convenient and is not. Say waist up anyway, because otherwise you cannot tell whether you got the framing you asked for or the framing it always gives.

The other issue is dead hands. Ask for the hands to be doing something, or the shot spends its main advantage on nothing.