In photography and cinematography, headroom or head room is a concept of aesthetic composition that addresses the relative vertical position of the subject within the frame of the image. Headroom refers specifically to the distance between the top of the subject's head and the top of the frame, but the term is sometimes used instead of lead room, nose room or 'looking room'[1] to include the sense of space on both sides of the image. The amount of headroom that is considered aesthetically pleasing is a dynamic quantity; it changes relative to how much of the frame is filled by the subject. Rather than pointing and shooting, one must compose the image to be pleasing.[2] Too much room between a subject's head and the top of frame results in dead space.[3]
- ^ Thompson, Roy. Grammar of the shot, Focal Press, 1998, p. 64. ISBN 0-240-51398-3
- ^ "Camera Tutorial 1-5 : Framing". www.mediacollege.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
- ^ "Production: Understanding Head Room - Steve's Digicams". www.steves-digicams.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2018-04-09.