How much footroom should you leave in a full-body portrait or street photo?
Asked 1/27/2015
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2 answers
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I understand the idea of headroom, but is there a similar rule of thumb for footroom—how much space to leave below a subject’s feet? I’m mainly asking about full-body portraits and street photography, where framing can vary depending on style and intent.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
4
Yes, in general images are more pleasing when the feet are not cut off or exactly level with the bottom of the image.
But just as there is no definitive amount of headroom to leave, there is no definitive amount of footroom to leave, just what looks right for a particular image.
You will probably find that you need to leave more headroom that footroom.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
There isn’t a fixed rule for footroom, just as there isn’t a universal rule for headroom. For full-body portraits and street shots, a common guideline is that the image usually looks better if the subject’s feet are not cut off and not placed exactly on the bottom edge of the frame.
In practice, leave a little space below the feet if it suits the composition. How much depends on the image and your style, but many photos will look balanced with less footroom than headroom. The best approach is to judge what looks natural and pleasing for that specific frame.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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