33. WATCH YOUR HORIZON

I HAD A photography professor in college who joked about the placement of the horizon in images. In quintessential West Texan style, he’d say things like, “Make sure you’re not losing any water,” when referring to tilted horizons. His jokes were comical ways of explaining something important about the way an image looks. Although we often emphasize the placement of the horizon and its angle more strongly when discussing landscape photography, it still plays a part in portraits.

As mentioned earlier in the chapter, it’s best to avoid placing the horizon in the middle of the frame because it can unintentionally create equal areas of visual interest that compete for your viewer’s attention. This can result in visual discomfort that detracts from the subject of your portrait. We want to avoid this, and the earlier tip referencing the rule of thirds suggests such.

Let’s focus on the angle at which you compose the horizon by thinking about how you naturally view the world around you. Go ahead, look around. Turn a complete 360 degrees. Unless you are in outer space, the horizon and the line it creates is naturally level. For those of you in or near the mountains, the horizon may not be flat, but it will still be level. We are naturally disposed to feeling that the horizon is level. I’m sure there’s anatomical and psychophysiological research that can explain this concept, but suffice it to say that we understand our world as being “level” in association with our physical equilibrium. Otherwise, we would constantly struggle with standing.

With this in mind, consider the value in keeping the horizon level in your portraits. It feels natural. It’s great for environmental portraits in which a distinct horizon line is implied or supplied in the frame (Figure 33.1). In many cases, especially senior or bridal portraits where the image is all about the subject, a level horizon line is less noticeable than a tilted one, and this “invisibility” is ideal.

However, unlike in other types of photography, a tilted horizon line is more acceptable in portraiture based on style and intention (Figure 33.2). A horizon that is “losing water” due to being tilted can often be used to imply a certain degree of drama and edginess, especially for wider portraits. Although it’s best to keep the horizon level in most traditional environmental portraits, a slightly tilted horizon for fashion or individual portraits might imply some subliminal characteristics about your subject. I especially appreciate a tilted horizon in a medium portrait with a horizontal orientation (Figure 33.3).

33.1 The level horizon in this wide environmental portrait leaves the viewer without any visual attention and better able to take in the entire landscape.
ISO 200; 1/100 sec.; f/22; 17mm

33.2 Moderately tilting horizons can often complement the portrait subject’s personality.
ISO 200; 1/1000 sec.; f/2.8; 145mm

33.3 Slightly angling the horizon down and to the left also dynamically angles the subject toward the open portion of the frame, often referred to as the image’s white space.
ISO 200; 1/1600 sec.; f/1.8; 85mm

Portraits that don’t necessarily include the actual horizon line, such as headshots, can also benefit from tilting the viewer’s natural perspective (Figure 33.4). Remember that a diagonal line in a frame creates dynamic value and interest. Bear in mind, though, that a tilted horizon can get out of hand. Remember, we’re used to seeing the horizon as level, so when the horizon is dramatically tilted, it’s extremely noticeable and sometimes disturbingly distracting. An extremely titled horizon suggests a level of chaos not normally desired in most portraiture. It’s currently trendy to tilt the horizon, and although I don’t want to discourage exploring this option, it’s always worth assessing why you are doing it and considering its effect in your portraiture.

33.4 The camera was intentionally tilted to allow the subject’s form to create an attractive, compositionally diagonal line across the frame.
ISO 100; 1/1600 sec.; f/1.8; 85mm

Don’t Compose the Horizon Line Behind Your Subject’s Head

The title of this sidebar pretty much says it all. Although it’s sometimes unavoidable, it’s rather taboo to compose the horizon line directly behind your subject’s head. This intersection can be distracting, especially if your depth of field is fairly wide. The more in-focus your background becomes, the more it looks like the horizon line is cutting into your subject’s head. If you must compose the horizon line behind your subject’s head, do your best to mitigate it’s potential for distraction. Lower your depth of field all of the way to knock it out of focus (Figure 33.5).

However, the most effective alternative to placing the horizon line behind your subject’s head is to simply elevate or lower the position of the camera. This will move the horizon line above your subject all together or lower it an ample enough amount to keep it from being a major distraction. Do keep in mind, though, that a horizon line intersecting the bottom of the chin or neck can also be detrimental to the portrait. It’s best to have the horizon below the shoulder line.

33.5 Although the husband’s head intersects with the plateau, the background is sufficiently out of focus for it not to be too much of a visual distraction.
ISO 200; 1/320 sec.; f/2.8; 51mm