Head Room

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.

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. For both photography and cinematography, composition is incredibly important. Rather than pointing and shooting, one must compose the image to be pleasing. Too much room between a subject’s head and the top of frame results in dead space. Its uninteresting and leaves the viewer feeling awkward.

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Too much Head room

In this shot, there is too much head room. It gives a feeling that the subject is sinking, and it makes your subject look small.

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‍No Head room

The shot above shows insufficient head room. The subject’s head is cut off and is hitting the top of the screen frame.

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‍Ideal Head room

To determine proper head room in a shot, you can apply the rule of thirds.

• Divide the screen into three equal sections.
• Place the subject’s eye on or near the line of the upper third section.

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