Head Angle Fine Points

[CliveTonge]

Hi Artie,
First, thanks for sharing this.

Well after looking back and forth for five minutes I remembered that with Firefox if I hit f11 It goes full screen and I can see both pictures at the same time. Then there was dust on the screen.
Finally, I can see the difference. AN is better. The light and the eye. I like seeing the definition in the nostril too. (?? Is it a nostril on a bird??)

Take care,
Clive

 

[Arthur Morris]

Clive, YAW.

All, we are in full agreement: AN is far better for the reasons noted Way to go guys. Where are the girls???

 

[Allen Hirsch]

I'm new to the site, but have just read through this whole thread.

Just when I thought I was developing a better eye on most of the pairings, that last pairing was too subtle for me to see a meaningful difference. So I still have lots more learning to do.....

 

[Charles Scheffold]

I want to publicly thank everyone who has contributed to this thread - now that I have "HA on the brain", I'm constantly considering it before I press the shutter button.

So yesterday I was watching some ducks through my lens and trying to explain proper head angle to myself (in my head) as if I were teaching someone else. While doing so, I thought of this question:

Which is more important - head angle relative to the bird's body or head angle relative to the camera/viewer? Why?

My gut feeling is that this is context sensitive and there really isn't a "formula", but I'd love to hear what others have to say.

thanks
Charles

 

[Bob Pelkey]

Image B with the bird (if not mistakenly) looking at the viewer is the more impressionable shot. I prefer the first shot however for a better understanding of anatomical detail in the beak.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Image B with the bird (if not mistakenly) looking at the viewer is the more impressionable shot. I prefer the first shot however for a better understanding of anatomical detail in the beak.

Bob, Welcome. I think that you missed this in the first pane:

Important note: this is an ongoing thread. You can learn a lot by scrolling down but if you have played before and are re-visiting it would be best to go to the last page and scroll up to see the latest offerings.

My opinion on the first quiz is in Pane 18 on page 1. That was back in August.

See below for the latest quiz.

 

[Arthur Morris]

I want to publicly thank everyone who has contributed to this thread - now that I have "HA on the brain", I'm constantly considering it before I press the shutter button.

So yesterday I was watching some ducks through my lens and trying to explain proper head angle to myself (in my head) as if I were teaching someone else. While doing so, I thought of this question:

Which is more important - head angle relative to the bird's body or head angle relative to the camera/viewer? Why?

My gut feeling is that this is context sensitive and there really isn't a "formula", but I'd love to hear what others have to say.

thanks
Charles

First off, it sure sounds as if you are learning

To answer your question, the two are melded together--as you guessed it--depending on the situation.... There have been lots of quiz examples that have encouraged folks to realize just that.....

 

[Arthur Morris]

Here is image AO.

 

[Arthur Morris]

And here is image AP.

Which do you prefer and why?

ps: I have been swamped in the office writing several articles, writing the Lens Align tutorial, working hard on the blog almost daily, and editing four new guides written by others

Now the non-stop travels begin but at least I will have lots of new images....

 

[John Hawkins]

This one looks so obvious I am probably wrong. I like AO as he is looking directly at me. He seems to be curious and as if is posing. The other he has a lack of interest and just seems bland.

 

[Jon Saperia]

John, if you are wrong so am I. I looked at this last night and AO from a HA perspective seems much more engaging to me. Looking at it again nothing is changed. I go with AO.

 

[Charles Scheffold]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I think AP is better - because the head is turned slightly toward the camera, and is more inline with the bird's body. The eye and bill are both sharp, and stand out well against the background.

AO does have a more engaging head angle, but the bill is slightly less sharp and there is a shadow on the bird's neck feathers. The head is also not inline with the direction that the bird's body is facing.

So I prefer AP in this one for those reasons.

Charles

 

[Mike Atkinson]

Hi, All.

AO is my clear preference, and is a great illustration of why I prefer head-turns towards the camera, rather than parallel to the sensor.

For me, the difference is about engagement, which is a concept dominated to such an extent by our human-to-human interactions that we respond to creatures anthropomorphically. Even where creatures have different structures to humans, e.g. having eyes on the sides of their heads, we still measure degrees of engagement in terms of human structure. A sideways-facing posture will therefore seem relatively uninterested - or even 'shifty' - compared with one in which the subject is turning to face us.

In this case, the Spoonbill can see the photographer equally well in both shots, since the head-turn in AO is not great enough to bring binocular vision into play. I this were a human subject, though, particularly since the body is angled away from the photographer, there would be a real sense that the subject is making an effort to connect with the photographer. Perhaps this is why over-the-shoulder poses are so popular in portrait photography.

Also, the combination of angled-towards-us head and angled-away-from-us body creates a curve in the horizontal plane that adds interest compared with the 'flat', 2-dimensional subject in AP.

Finally, I think Charles raised a key question about which is more important, HA relative to the bird or HA relative to the camera/viewer. I agree with Art that these combine in a situation-dependent manner but, if I had to choose one or the other, I would definitely go for HA relative to the camera/viewer. Many photographers would delete images that have a HA relative to the camera/viewer off by only one degree, but tolerances for HA relative to the bird are invariably much greater. With a great head like the one in image AO, I'd put up with almost any body angle!

Mike.

 

[Charles Scheffold]

Mike,

Excellent points - you make a strong case. I DO like the head angle in AO, but there is something about AP that I really like as well. Aside from the apparent lack of engagement with the viewer, about the only problem I can see with AP is the catchlight in the eye. It's a bit harsh and I would probably tone it down if this were mine.

I'm curious to see what Artie's answer is...

Charles

 

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

AO for me. definitely. Reason being it shows off the bill so well. Instead of spoobill, if it was a shot of, say, a heron, then I'd have prefered AP.

 

[AlvanBuckley]

When I first saw these images last week I couldn't decide which image I preferred so I decided not to vote. But now after looking at the images again and reading the opinions of others I've come to a decision, but only barely!
I do prefer AO over AP. The main reason I like AO more is because you can see the unique shape of the bill. Other than that, I think both images are equally good in terms of HA.

 

[Michael Henry]

AO for me as well, primarily for the reasons in the last couple of posts. The unique shape of the spoonbill is demonstrated by the greater head turn and in this case makes it a more dramatic image. I will put up with the slight shadow on the neck for the broader view of the bill.

 

[Arthur Morris]

I like them both and kept both but give a slight edge to AO as we can see the dorsal surface of the bill. Do note that with the bird angled ever so slightly away from us AP is the textbook "right" head angle.

 

[Arthur Morris]

This is Image AQ.

 

[Arthur Morris]

And this is Image AR. Which is the better head angle, and why?