One of the rules of bird photography is that there should be eye contact with the subject and the bird should not be angled away from the viewer. Is it a breakable rule or is an angled away bird in flight an automatic fail? Back when I was involved more with bird photography forums a very good bird photographer whose work I had long admired posted a dynamic image of a raptor in flight on a diagonal of the frame and angled slightly away from the viewer. A deluge of comments took him to task for having the bird angled away and he emailed me for my opinion. My feeling was that it was dynamic image that created a feeling of being in flight and overtaken by a speeding raptor. I thought, as he had, that the image worked despite having broken the rule.
I think the rule is a good one for most images and strive to achieve it in most situations but sometimes I think an image is stronger when the rule is broken. I wrote about this in general terms in a previous post and for perched birds it may be more crucial to have a head angle parallel to the sensor or ideally angled just toward the viewer. For flight images I think there can be a bit more leeway in some circumstances. I still discard almost all images angled away but in some cases I think they are not an automatic fail.
Which ones work? I think that if an image gives me a sense that it were the view I would get if flying with the bird, I don’t mind if if it is angling away a bit. This following image of a Papango/NZ Scaup is an example. Clearly angled away and giving a lovely dorsal view of the wings, it is the view I would have if flying just above and behind, so works for me.
I think part of my fascination with birds is that I envy their ability to fly. If an image lets me imagine I am in flight with the subject then I’m happy to break the angle rule and just enjoy the experience of flight! Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S
Adrienne Douglas
5 Mar 2023No fail from me.
While I love both shots, I personally prefer the angled image.
There is still eye contact but also a sense of movement with more of the subject visible making for a more interesting shot. (Only my opinion.)
While rules are important they should only ever be a guide line and are there to be broken.
I think a winning image is one that initially grabs your attention first and follows the rules second.
It’s a personal thing and a little rule bending can be good.
tony
5 Mar 2023Thanks for your perspective, Adrienne. Much appreciated.
Tim
27 Mar 2023No fail from me either. Some people seem to be a bit precious about “rules”. I agree with Adrienne that most so-called rules are really guidelines and should be broken from time to time.
Where would we be without William Webb Ellis? 🙂
BTW Tony, I knew I needed to lift my game as far as BIF goes and you’ve just confirmed that.
tony
27 Mar 2023Thanks, Tim. Appreciate your feedback.