Don’t cut your subject in half with the horizon
This tip comes from wildlife photographer Andy Rouse and is particularly aimed at those photographing animals - but is a tip that might be applicable for those shooting portraits in outdoor settings.
Andy’s tip is one that I’d never considered before. He explains:
“Don’t cut across your subject with the horizon as it ruins the composition. Either leave the horizon out completely or have the subject on top of it and use the horizon as a natural framing point in the bottom of the image.”
To place the horizon at the top of a frame you might like to try shooting from slightly above your subject and to place it lower in the image shoot from down low.
Andy goes on to suggest that if you can’t avoid placing the horizon in the middle of your subject then to try to cut down the harshness of the horizon’s line by using a smaller depth of field (using a large aperture) to lessen it’s impact.
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June 19th, 2007 at 10:42 pm
That’s a smart idea - will definitely give it a try!
June 19th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
I didn’t understand it. Anyone can explain it for me, please?
June 19th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
look at the horizon in the background. see how it goes through the animal’s neck? simply put, try not to do that. ha!
same goes with people. i too, typically find it annoying when someone’s head has the horizon going right through the middle of it.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Kris, just take it “as is” and believe it. The point is that the contrast is different where the object is placed against the sky and the ground, and if the difference is big, it is not pleasant to the eye.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:17 am
great tip!!!
June 20th, 2007 at 1:13 am
Fantastic - so simple! I’ll add that to my pre click checks along with the ‘dont cut limbs at the joints’ which was posted a few weeks ago :-)
June 20th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Good tip! This is timely for me as I will be doing a lot of outdoor work while on vacation in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State in a couple of weeks.
June 20th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Also, in the picture it would have helped if the dark body of the bird was contrasted with the light sky instead of the similarly colored ground.
June 20th, 2007 at 2:59 am
One good advice I read somewhere (can’t remember where) is that if you absolutely must cut a person or an animal with the horizon (or any other line) - always cut at the middle of a bone and not on joints.
For an example, you should frame the shot so the horizon is behind the forearm or upper arm instead of through the elbow.
June 20th, 2007 at 2:59 am
Just saw Shane’s comment and remember where I read it - and boy, do I feel stupid now :)
June 20th, 2007 at 3:11 am
I’d imagine that the reason you would not want to have the horizon at a joint (from a design perspective) is that you would have a bunch of intersecting lines drawing your eye (much like an arrow) to a part of a picture that you would not want to do that. It would break the picture up in an unintended part of it and the flow of your eyes would be interrupted. ;o)
June 20th, 2007 at 3:32 am
Great suggestion, sometimes we overlook the obvious, thanks.
June 20th, 2007 at 3:38 am
Great! I never paid attention to that, but from now on I will keep an eye on that! Great tip! Thanks!
June 20th, 2007 at 5:25 am
it is a matter of composition. in this picture the photographer could have bent down to make the bird prominent towards the sky. here it is mixed up with the background. otherwise a very good picture. rule of thirds is applied except the horizontal line is going towards the upper line of ROT, which is annoying.
June 20th, 2007 at 6:22 am
Thanks for clarification, I wasn’t sure if the picture example was an example of what to do, or not to do! :-)
June 20th, 2007 at 6:57 am
@Arnar: I’ve heard the advice about not cropping on joints or near them and I totally understand it. If you crop just shy of someone’s elbow, their arm has the illusion of going on forever as our brains try and fill in the blanks.
With regards to horizon-cutting, if you had to do it could you use the rule of thirds again? Have the horizon be not only on the 1/3 or 2/3 line of the photo, but also 1/3 or 2/3 of the way through your subject?
June 20th, 2007 at 8:42 am
good tip indeed. Thanks!!!!
It is necessary to pay attention to the background too even if we always are mor concerned about the main subject.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Am I wrong or did they feature this shot of the bird to give an example of …. as stated in the article ….”using a smaller depth of field (using a large aperture) to lessen it’s impact.” The horizon is fuzzy.
June 20th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
This all comes down to focus. Getting rid of the horizon cutting through your subject improves the focus on the subject.ie. stops peoples eyes being pulled away from what it is you want them to look at.
Great tip.
Cheers,
Keith.
June 20th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Claire - I think the shot could have been improved with a smaller depth of field. Having said this - it does have an aperture of f/6.3 so depending upon the lens being used there probably wasn’t too many more stops available.
Like someone suggests above - perhaps another strategy to capture the moment would have been getting down lower as the photographer to put the bird more against the sky - however this is not always possible.
I guess I used it as an example simply to show how a horizon can be a little distracting.
June 20th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Maybe a ‘little’ distracting but, I like this photo and don’t think the horizon harms it much, probably because it is out of focus. With that being said, it is a good rule. I’m simply saying that even the best rules can be broken sometime. Again, I like the photo.
June 20th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
I think I’m OK with it in the example given, because there’s a shallow DOF and the horizon is sufficiently blurry so it’s not quite so distracting as it might otherwise be.
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:22 am
it’s super smart… i like the aperture part better… since sometimes u just can’t help but having the horizon.. all about capturing the moment!!
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:53 am
yes great tip..I hadn’t thougt of this before. I’d alwasy watched out fot lamp post growing out of my subjects head but hadn’t taken that much notice of the horizon..cheers..Rob
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:55 am
This is a great tip however a little confusing at the same time as the photo shows what the tip says not to do. Having said that, this site is a great resource for all things photography and rates very high up in my essential reading of the week! Well done.
July 12th, 2007 at 3:58 am
haha—funny to find one of my photos used to illustrate what not to do–too bad you didn’t include the text where I explained that the situation didn’t allow me to avoid the horizon bisecting the GBH. ;-) That said–like I said, I got a real kick out of running across my photo as one of the “what not to do” examples. haha
July 12th, 2007 at 7:42 am
nothing personal Charlene - I’m sure a lot of people clicked through on the image to read more about it and see your explanation.
It’s always difficult to get things just right and I think your image is pretty good. If only it wasn’t a hill behind the bird and it was standing on the horizon. Doh - not in your control though! Thanks for stopping by!