background light with honeycomb, Nikon D2Xs and
24–70 lens.Headroom
In portraiture the term headroom refers to the space
betweenthetopofthesubject’sheadandthetopedgeof
the image frame. This area can affect how the viewer
perceivesthefinalimage.Iftheheadroomgivenspaceis
toolarge,thesubjectwillbelostinnegativespaceandthe
pointof impactwillbe lessened.Iftheheadroom space
afforded is too little the subject will appear restricted
withintheframe,withnoroomtobreathe.Theheadroom
necessary for a pleasing composition is relative to the
amountofspacethatthesubjectisfilling theframe;the
closerthesubjectappearstobe,thelessheadroomwillbe
required.