Example #1: Quality portrait with heads touching.
Example #2: Very good photograph, but would be ideal if the girl on the right had her head touching.
So now that you understand what I mean by heads touching (some people get confused or may misinterpret the instructions), I will try to explain why heads touching is often necessary.
Example #3: A picture of two people having a conversation awkwardly because they appear farther apart than they actually are.
Example #4: A picture of two people having a conversation at a different angle so that they appear closer together and less awkward. This is usually the angle that professionals use when shooting movies.
Example #5: Displays another strategy for making the conversation seem less awkward: move the people closer together than they would normally stand.
Example #6: When posing for a picture, people sometimes don't put their heads together. Like the awkward conversation, the people appear farther apart than they actually are. The girl in this photo on the left is displaying this for us.
Example #7: To combat this appearance of distance, one option is to take the picture at a different angle, like they usually do in the movies.
Example #8: Another option would be for the girl on the left to move her head closer than she thinks she needs to (so it is touching the girl's head in the middle). I didn't have an example of this from the same occasion as example #8, so I used another photo with similar composition.
Example #9: While there are many other things occurring in this family photograph, the main reason it is not the greatest portrait is because the people's heads aren't touching.
Example #10: This is a classic example of how touching heads can improve a photograph. Notice how the girl in the middle put her head in proper position and the boy's head on the far right appears to be touching the boy behind him. Now you can tell what a lovely family they are.
I like the heads touching technique, but found it not 100% effective. When there is a person in the middle and the people on each end lean in until heads touching happens, I've found that the person in the middle of the picture will have an abnormally shaped head or will be partially covered up by the people next to them.
ReplyDeleteHow can I prevent that from happening?
And what is the limit of people that can fit in a heads touching photo?
hahhahhaha i love this post.
ReplyDeleteSuch legitimate concerns! I will concede that there are additional components besides heads touching that make a photograph quality.
ReplyDeleteTo try to stop people from squishing or covering people up, maybe you could clarify, sides of heads touching. That way people will put their heads on the same plane.
There really is no limit to a heads touching photo, but you may need to split people into rows. I agree that it would be very difficult to try to fit 10 people standing and leaning in with their heads touching. Instead, you could have 5 people crouch in front with their heads touching, and 5 behind standing with their heads touching.
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ReplyDeleteThis technique may not be applicable beyond close female friends. Anecdotally I have seen few photos of male or mixed company with touching heads.
ReplyDeleteThis technique would make for some very perplexing situations. (Unless maybe alcohol was involved...)
I am definitely not arguing that all groups of people will feel comfortable with their heads touching, but I think one of the few situations it absolutely doesn't work is in an all-male group. (it usually works for families, female friends, couples, mixed groups of friends...) I know you like empirical evidence, so did you see the photo with girls and guys at the bottom? Anyway, unfortunately this concept is about the theory (that you have to be closer together to give the allusion of being a "normal" distance apart in a photo), and the theory still applies to all groups, although it may require a slightly different execution for male groups.
ReplyDeletelol random is that dave pelaggi last photos on the left?
ReplyDelete& are these cousins or friends..??