Looking Down

for any camera
If you are in a situation where you can direct the subject, you can have them pose in endless ways. Just one variable: how high they hold their head. A tiny lowering or lifting of the chin can make a big difference. And just to complete the thought, we had Nicole tilt from way down to way up.

Bottom Line: A tiny change in head tilt can make a big difference.

100mm, f19, studio flash

(Slider fun: Try sliding between images 7 and 8 — Nicole goes exorcist on you.)
starting point
"tilt your head down a bit"
"tilt down a bit more"
"tilt down even more"
"tilt your head way down"
"tilt down still more"
"tilt as far as you can and still see the camera"
"look down instead of at the camera"
starting point
"tilt your head down a bit"
"tilt down a bit more"
"tilt down even more"
"tilt your head way down"
"tilt down still more"
"tilt as far as you can and still see the camera"
"look down instead of at the camera"
starting point
"tilt your head down a bit"
"tilt down a bit more"
"tilt down even more"
"tilt your head way down"
"tilt down still more"
"tilt as far as you can and still see the camera"
"look down instead of at the camera"
Left
Right

I put the camera on a tripod at roughly Nicole's eye level and told her to look straight into the camera. (I bet her good dancer's posture affects what her body defines as "straight ahead.")

I say "Tilt your head down a tiny bit," and this is what we get. The difference is tiny, but it does change the shape of her face — her chin gets a tiny bit smaller.

"Tilt your head down a little more." Now her chin is a lot smaller, but this is about the limit she can tilt down and be comfortable.

"Tilt more." Now you can see a fold in the skin under her chin, and even see the muscles working to keep her chin down.

Now she is tilting just enough to cover that tiny fold under he chin. But the bowed head is becoming the subject of the photo.

Neck muscles are working to lower her chin, while the eyes are working to look up that much.

She has bowed her head so far that looking at the camera makes her look like she is making an excorist movie, which could be the look you are after.

Here we decided to see how different it looks if she stops straining to look up at the camera and just looks in front of her. Now she is praying, so she has gone from devilish to religious simply by lowering her eyes. What do you know?

I put the camera on a tripod at roughly Nicole's eye level and told her to look straight into the camera. (I bet her good dancer's posture affects what her body defines as "straight ahead.")

I say "Tilt your head down a tiny bit," and this is what we get. The difference is tiny, but it does change the shape of her face — her chin gets a tiny bit smaller.

"Tilt your head down a little more." Now her chin is a lot smaller, but this is about the limit she can tilt down and be comfortable.

"Tilt more." Now you can see a fold in the skin under her chin, and even see the muscles working to keep her chin down.

Now she is tilting just enough to cover that tiny fold under he chin. But the bowed head is becoming the subject of the photo.

Neck muscles are working to lower her chin, while the eyes are working to look up that much.

She has bowed her head so far that looking at the camera makes her look like she is making an excorist movie, which could be the look you are after.

Here we decided to see how different it looks if she stops straining to look up at the camera and just looks in front of her. Now she is praying, so she has gone from devilish to religious simply by lowering her eyes. What do you know?