Head Angle Fine Points

[Alan Lillich]

I quickly decided that I liked L better, but it took some time to figure out why and relate that to head angle. Even though I normally seeing through the nostrils (how's that for a fetish?), something about M felt off. Then I realized that the legs indicate that the body is rotated slightly towards the viewer. The nostrils indicate that the head in M is probably close to being in the image plane, while the head in L is rotated slightly towards the viewer. So the head in L is inline with the body, while the head in M is rotated slightly away relative to the body. (It helps that I spent some time yesterday rereading the head and light angle sections of ABP II.) This is turning into quite the education!

thanks,
Alan

 

[Myer Bornstein]

I pick L. more engagement with me than does M

 

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Definitely L....head slightly turned towards the camera. In M, my eyes go out of the frame very quickly following the skimmer's line of sight.

 

[Jon Saperia]

Thanks all for participating. I deleted B after saving it for this feature. The head bird A is pretty much parallel to the back of the camera as many of you noted and this is a fine acceptable head angle (for me) for a perfect field guide portrait with the bird's body also parallel to the back of the camera. Here is the important lesson that nobody picked up on: in both of the images, each created in the same tenth of a second, the bird's body is angled slightly towards us. In the situations, the very minimum requirement is that the bird's head be on straight, that is, parallel to its body. In A the bird's head is actually turned away from the direction that the bird itself is pointed. In B, with the head turned just a bit more towards us, the head is on straight. As many noted, it seems that the bird is more engaged with us. For me, that is caused by the way the light is hitting the bird's face. In A, the face in front of the eye is darker than in B because the head is turned away from us and from the light. Even though it was cloudy, the light still had a direction. My two cents. After commenting on a few comments I will post two more. Good luck!

This thread is the third in the series you suggested folks read in the series on HA you suggested in a reply to a post I made in the "eager to learn forum". Think I was getting it - but your note here confuses me a bit. You said you deleted "B", yet it seems like you too prefer it. The light on the head does seem better on B, but the HA is not parallel to the FP while it does seem better in A. Am I understanding you correctly, what have I missed?

 

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Jon, Thanks for catching my brain typo

I just edited that post to read as follows:

Thanks all for participating. I deleted A after saving it for this feature. The head bird A is pretty much parallel to the back of the camera as many of you noted and this is a fine acceptable head angle (for me) for a perfect field guide portrait with the bird's body also parallel to the back of the camera. Here is the important lesson that nobody picked up on: in both of the images, each created in the same tenth of a second, the bird's body is angled slightly towards us. In these situations, the very minimum requirement is that the bird's head be on straight, that is, parallel to its body. In A the bird's head is actually turned away from the direction that the bird itself is pointed. In B, with the head turned just a bit more towards us, the head is on straight. As many noted, it seems that the bird is more engaged with us. For me, that is caused by the way the light is hitting the bird's face. In A, the face in front of the eye is darker than in B because the head is turned away from us and from the light. Even though it was cloudy, the light still had a direction. My two cents. After commenting on a few comments I will post two more. Good luck!

Note: Thanks to Jon Saperia for correcting the typo above. Glad that someone was paying attention.

It is always good to have a student who will keep you on your toes.

 

[Jon Saperia]

Hi Jon, Thanks for catching my brain typo

I just edited that post to read as follows:

Thanks all for participating. I deleted A after saving it for this feature. The head bird A is pretty much parallel to the back of the camera as many of you noted and this is a fine acceptable head angle (for me) for a perfect field guide portrait with the bird's body also parallel to the back of the camera. Here is the important lesson that nobody picked up on: in both of the images, each created in the same tenth of a second, the bird's body is angled slightly towards us. In these situations, the very minimum requirement is that the bird's head be on straight, that is, parallel to its body. In A the bird's head is actually turned away from the direction that the bird itself is pointed. In B, with the head turned just a bit more towards us, the head is on straight. As many noted, it seems that the bird is more engaged with us. For me, that is caused by the way the light is hitting the bird's face. In A, the face in front of the eye is darker than in B because the head is turned away from us and from the light. Even though it was cloudy, the light still had a direction. My two cents. After commenting on a few comments I will post two more. Good luck!

Note: Thanks to Jon Saperia for correcting the typo above. Glad that someone was paying attention.

It is always good to have a student who will keep you on your toes.

Thanks, I had to get one right after a while. I will keep reading.

 

[Arthur Morris]

OK, back on track to L and M. Which has the better head angle? Some folks above state that I am splitting hairs. Most folks prefer L to M by a good margin. If you were able to switch from L to M instantly it would be evident to all the L is far superior to M and that the bird's head in M is actually turned a bit away from us. To make it easy for all to see I have created an animated GIF. Thanks to a whole bunch of folks and me spending two hours pulling my hair out, I am finally able to post the image here.

If any of you still think that M is better than L then I will be sending you back to Head Angle Kindergarten

 

[Arthur Morris]

To see all the folks who made the above possible check out the post here.

And then add Peter Kes to list Thanks all.

 

[Jory Griesman]

The GIF really accentuates the difference between L and M.

 

[Jon Saperia]

One thing I observe is that while I get the head angle difference and agree L is more engaging, one thing the animation points out is that in M, the head is not as squashed down on the body as in L. in L the effect is not too bad, and I know this is about head angle so L wins. Just that this is one aspect of the head position that was pointed out to me a while ago and is pretty evident in the animation you created.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Jon, For a skimmer, the hunched down posture is typical so L is more natural for me.

 

[Jon Saperia]

Thanks for the pointer - what is natural does matter - I agree. Now I get to quote, or at least paraphrase, something you once said: To be a good bird photographer, you have to be a good birder. I am still working on both

 

[Rachel Hollander]

Artie - I think the GIF is a great teaching tool. Thanks for making the time investment.

Rachel

 

[Arthur Morris]

YAW. There is still some hair left on my head. I will have Lance post his tutorial now that I understand it. I will add a bit to it.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Here are three more. Rank em, worst to best. This is image N.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Image O.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Image P.

 

[Jon Saperia]

I would go O, N, P. In P (lowest rank) the head is turned a bit too much toward the camera - it looks to be a quite a lot. N is better, but is tilted a bit away from the camera. O seems to me to be the best with the head tilted just the one or two degrees toward the camera to give the appearance of it looking at you.

 

[Andrew Merwin]

I agree with Jon. P, N, O from worst to best. Simply stated, I think O has the best HA.

 

[Myer Bornstein]

i like P the best the followed by O and lastly N . P makes the bird more attentive. BTW I would clone out the dark area on the right side