Shot Size

To learn about shot sizes I consulted Film Directing: Shot by Shot by Steven D. Katz.

In cinema there is a standard range of shot sizes. They are all quite clearly defined.

However different shot sizes are arranged proportionally i.e they are not defined in terms of absolute measurements. The shot is therefore defined in terms of what proportion of the subject takes up the frame and the framing. For example whilst an extreme wide shot of a mountain will be viewing a larger amount of space than an extreme wide shot of a house - because the subject (the mountain) is obviously bigger - they are however still of course deemed extreme wide shots as they both have the same relationship with the subject.

Here's a little demonstration I did with a kinder egg toy. The toy is of course tiny...

The first image is a wide shot of the subject, the second a long shot. Of course seeing as the subject is about the size of a thumb the difference in the physical distance covered is only a foot or two. If these two shots were done with a car as the subject, the difference in distance from the subject in the second photo would be a matter of meters.