Portrait painters sometimes use the term "nose room" for the extra compositional space allotted for the direction that a face is looking.
There seems to be a psychological need to give the face extra room to inhabit, compared to the back of the head. This portrait is by Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) a Finnish-Swedish painter who studied under Gerome.
In this shot from the Ridley Scott film "Kingdom of Heaven," the character is given nose room since he is looking to the right side of the screen. For moving subjects, such as a car, extra space is given in front of the direction of movement, and that's often called "lead room."
Whenever I hear a rule I start thinking of the exceptions. Are there good reasons to violate the nose room principle?
Yes. Putting space behind the head can suggest detachment, alienation, or reverie. It makes the person seem somehow less accessible or more mysterious. This painting by the brilliant rule-breaker Andrew Wyeth shows his subject apparently looking out a window that we can't see.
It invites us to wonder what's inside her mind or outside her house. Even the title takes you beyond the frame: "And Bells on Her Toes."
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Wyeth painting from the Mississippi Museum of Art
Book: Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic
Whenever I hear a rule I start thinking of the exceptions. Are there good reasons to violate the nose room principle?
Yes. Putting space behind the head can suggest detachment, alienation, or reverie. It makes the person seem somehow less accessible or more mysterious. This painting by the brilliant rule-breaker Andrew Wyeth shows his subject apparently looking out a window that we can't see.
It invites us to wonder what's inside her mind or outside her house. Even the title takes you beyond the frame: "And Bells on Her Toes."
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Wyeth painting from the Mississippi Museum of Art
Book: Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic
There seems to be a psychological need TO give the face extra room to inhabit, compared to the back of the head.
ReplyDeleteJust a small typo in the beginning of the sentence: I marked it with caps lock - TO
Thanks, Neave. Fixed!
ReplyDeleteBy the way I really like the new post. Nose room is definitely an interesting subject which I never really thought of before you mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mr. Gurney for being awesome as always.
It seems so obvious now! Thanks for the enlightening post.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. I had never thought about how much space there should be around different items to make us feel comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI will remember your post when I am next looking at pictures.
"Even the title takes you beyond the frame." I've read that great care and revision went into the titles of Andrew Wyeth's paintings. His wife, Betsy, came up with the majority of the titles.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much James. This is a very interesting subject!
ReplyDeleteWhen I scrolled down this article and then saw that last painting by Wyeth, I smiled. Yes, he is a rulebreaker isn't he :)
ReplyDelete"The King's Speech" made abundant use of this type of unexpected shot composition:
ReplyDeletehttp://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_le4hq3GOWJ1qzvdcjo1_r1_500.jpg
I honestly found it a bit distracting; while I understand that it was done with a purpose, I felt that the movie suffered because it, not benefited from it.
Tyler, that's really interesting. Great examples. They violate the head room rule, too.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Nose room is in part to give implied room for the personal space in the image, the viewer would feel less comfortable if they were implied to be closer to the subject than they would be in real life. This would explain why the back of the head does not require much room. It would be interesting what a plot of that personal bubble would look like -maybe an egg?, extending away from the face and as close to the back of the neck before you start breathing down it ? very interesting as always :)
ReplyDeleteLee, I think you've got something there. I like your idea of charting the bubble of our personal space, like how much room we need around us with strangers on an elevator. Is it easier to stand closer to someone back to back compared to front to front? I suppose eye direction and eye contact is a factor, too. If the face in a picture is making eye contact with the viewer, does that change the nose room rules?
ReplyDeleteI suppose not just eye contact would affect it, but all sorts of things, like how well you are supposed to know the person or whether you are meant to be interacting with them. nose space, seems to come into play when the figure isn't acknowledging the viewer and is paying attention to something else,so perhaps it shows us that we aren't rudely blocking their line of sight?
ReplyDeletePlus, Ghassan Massoud just needs some extra space for that awesome nose of his. KoH is a favorite film of mine, and I particularly love his scenes. I think he'd make a wonderful Captain Nemo...
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about this phenomenon until reading this, but it would explain some past decisions I have apparently made subconsciously... also some unexplained dissatisfactions with a few compositions as well. Thanks for the post, James - thought-provoking as always!
Hi Mr.Gurney. Just wondering what is the difference/relationship, if any, between nose room and the composition rule of thirds? or are they the same?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Alhaitham, they're different rules. All of the pictures in the post follow the rule of thirds, since the heads are roughly on one of the third divisions, but only the first two follow the nose rule. The Wyeth follows the rule of thirds but breaks the nose rule. I like to learn all these rules and then ignore them if it suits the picture.
ReplyDeleteIn the world of film and animation storyboarding, this is an idea that goes back a long way. I hear it referred to as 'looking space'.
ReplyDeleteThe onscreen visual impression is that the empty space is filled, mentally, by whatever it is that the person is looking at. It's an invitation for the viewer to participate.
When this 'rule' is violated, it can give rise to unsettled feelings, and you see it used often in noirish suspense movies and horror films.