Composition: The Head Chop

[MeAgain]

I do this a lot. Intentionally. I chop off part of my subjects head. I find it more interesting. My husband says "Just take a normal shot"

Questions:

is the head chop a valid composition tool? Or is my husband right and I should just take a "normal" shot?

does the photo work even though the subject is centered?

is it just me or is my grand daughter amazingly gorgeous?



Aug 21, 2011
2385×1589 pixels – 4959KB
Filename: ariglee.jpg
Camera: Canon
Model: Canon EOS REBEL T1i
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: 4.5
Focal Length: 109mm
Flash Used: No

[zona5101]

Grand daughter is gorgeous. And the crop is perfectly fine - and head chops are mo better than chin chops. In a tight crop like this centered is pretty much all you have to work with ...an off centered head chop might feel a little more like a mistake.

[shocellist]

I'm with zona5101 on this one. It looks fine! And definitely head chops over chin chops.

This may have been a photo that would look nice with her entire head though, because of the hairpiece.

[prettymistake83]

I agree I think head chops are ok I think however I would have liked to see more of the head band and flower. SHE IS SO PRETTY it makes up the lack of the top of the head!

[MeAgain]

Thank you very much for both the advise and the praise for my grand daugher. She is as awesome as she looks

[DanaLane]

Cropping into a person's head is fine, just crop far enough in that it is obviously intentional. When you clip just a tiny little bit, it can look distracting, but like you did it here is just fine. Nicely done BTW.