Head Angle Fine Points

[Doug Robertson]

My preference is "A" on the hummingbirds.

In part because in all three poses, I have a hard time telling if the bird is looking at the photographer or just staring beyond. The eyes are so different. So rather then try to guess... I go with the image where I don't have to decide if he's looking at me or not, he's not. Does that make sense?

[Arthur Morris]

I almost never care where the bird is looking as long as he is not facing the other way :)

[Allen Hirsch]

I almost never care where the bird is looking as long as he is not facing the other way :)

Really? But the preferred head angle nearly always has the bird making eye contact with the camera, does it not?

Isn't it the eye, not the head angle, that makes the emotional connection with the image viewer?

[Arthur Morris]

Really? But the preferred head angle nearly always has the bird making eye contact with the camera, does it not?

Isn't it the eye, not the head angle, that makes the emotional connection with the image viewer?

Hi Allen, I think that I have written at length on this somewhere in this thread but have no idea where :) Or it may have been elsewhere on BPN. So I will be brief. I rarely if ever utter the words "eye contact" or "catch light." I watch the head angle and the way the light hits the birds face. When I am happy, I push the shutter button. As it happens, if the bird is facing away from me the light cannot strike the face at all.... IAC, I never think eye contact. In most cases, I do not know or care what it means.

Does that make any sense?

[Allen Hirsch]

Hi Allen, I think that I have written at length on this somewhere in this thread but have no idea where :) Or it may have been elsewhere on BPN. So I will be brief. I rarely if ever utter the words "eye contact" or "catch light." I watch the head angle and the way the light hits the birds face. When I am happy, I push the shutter button. As it happens, if the bird is facing away from me the light cannot strike the face at all.... IAC, I never think eye contact. In most cases, I do not know or care what it means.

Does that make any sense?

I remember elsewhere in this thread that you said you never used the term "eye contact", IIRC.

But, as a consequence of the "right" head angle, don't you almost always get good eye contact, too? So it's a byproduct of what you're striving for: the best head angle.

And while (non bird photographer) viewers won't necessarily be able to articulate it, they'll respond more strongly to the image with the strongest eye contact, all other things equal, because that's where the emotional connection to the wildlife in the image is made.

[John Hawkins]

I like B. I think this is the best head angle of the 3, but would like it much more if it was just a few degrees less towards us.

[Arthur Morris]

Andre, Please excuse my comments in Pane 363. I did not realize that Peter had labeled the three hummer images A, B, & C and thought that you were talking about the second pair of images on Page 1.

[Andre van As]

Andre, Please excuse my comments in Pane 363. I did not realize that Peter had labeled the three hummer images A, B, & C and thought that you were talking about the second pair of images on Page 1.

Hi Art
My fault. I came in late and my comment was out of chronological context

Andre

[Arthur Morris]

Yikes. Now I see that my assumption was correct :) No harm no fowl :) Anyway, it is good to have you here Andre.

[Peter Hawrylyshyn]

On their own, i would have been happy with any of these. B is my preferred HA, but C is to me by far the most interesting and appealing image because of the iridescence of the gorget/head.
Usually the iridescence is only seen with more head-on angles, but often when viewed directly head on (a "preferred" HA), individual feather details become blurred because the HB can change the feather angle to help create the effect. Thus HA can become a secondary consideration, and to quote Artie - "the gorget rules".
I suspect the same may apply for other species where special head coloration or feather markings may make some images more appealing with less than ideal HA's.
Thanks for the comments