Film School Challenge

Head room refers to that space between the top of your frame and your subject's head. In both photography and video production, observing the proper head room can spell the difference between a good shot and a bad shot. As a general rule, your subject's eyes should be 2/3 up your framing, giving you enough head room.

 

Headroom changes as the camera zooms in or out, and the camera must simultaneously tilt up or down to keep the center of interest approximately one-third of the way down from the top of the frame.The closer the subject, the less headroom needed. In extreme close-ups, the top of the head is out of the frame, but the concept of headroom still applies via the rule of thirds.

 

Lead room is the space where dramatic energy is directed. For close up shots, lead room will often be referred to as "nose room". Anticipatory framing establishes that the camera needs to anticipate the movement within a scene rather than react to it.