{"id":15259,"date":"2014-06-22T04:22:13","date_gmt":"2014-06-22T10:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15259"},"modified":"2025-10-05T10:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T15:54:17","slug":"head-angles-less-than-perfect-head-angles-can-be-compelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/06\/22\/head-angles-less-than-perfect-head-angles-can-be-compelling\/","title":{"rendered":"Head Angles In Bird Photography – Less Than Perfect Head Angles Can Be Compelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TricoloredTricolored Heron with head tilt – Nikon D200, handheld, laying flat on the sand, f6.3, 1\/1500, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 330mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

On the web there are many image critique forums and though I\u00a0was only fairly active on one of the nature photography critique forums\u00a0I have participated on a few since 2003 and lurked on others without participating.<\/p>\n

I believe that by receiving and giving critiques I strengthened my skills in composition, technique and learned a great deal about the birds I love to photograph. Personally, I am not currently active on those forums now simply because I can’t find the time.<\/p>\n

I have seen some\u00a0bird images posted on other forums that I found interesting and appealing but several people who critiqued the photos have talked about having the head angle 2 degrees this way or three degrees another to obtain the “perfect head angle”.<\/p>\n

I’ve pondered those critiques and personally there are times when I think different head angles; even those that do not show the “perfect head turn” can be very compelling images.<\/p>\n

At one point in\u00a0time I\u00a0posted a few of my photos on the avian photography critique forum where I am a member where the head angles\u00a0of my subjects weren’t perfect but where I found that I liked the images despite the lack of direct eye contact.<\/p>\n

The feed back I received was very positive, so I don’t believe I am alone with my thoughts about head angles.<\/p>\n

In the image above the Tricolored Heron turned its head towards the sky to eyeball an Osprey flying overhead and I feel that the head being turned upwards adds interest to the image. It can make the viewer wonder what the heron is looking at.<\/p>\n

You can see the eye but the bird is just going about its life and it was comfortable in my presence.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican Coot and reflection – Nikon D200, on Gitzo CF tripod, Black Widow head, F7.1, 1\/500, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In this American Coot image the head angle might not be considered ideal, there is no direct eye contact or catch light in the eye but I still feel that this is a compelling and interesting image because of the head angle and the bird’s pose and demeanor.<\/p>\n

I have more images of this coot where the head angle would be considered “better” but they do not have the same effect on me that this one does. In this image it is the head angle that draws me in and keeps my attention.<\/p>\n

\"SnowySnowy Egrets on a stormy morning\u00a0– Nikon D200, handheld, laying in the sand, f5.6, 1\/500, ISO 500, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In this photo the primary Snowy Egret\u00a0is looking away, yet you can still see the eye. I believe the reason this image works for me is that it appears that the Snowy Egret is looking at the stormy water thus I don’t mind the head angle.<\/p>\n

For me this photo is as much about the setting as it is about the birds. I like the out of focus egret in the background, I feel it adds a tension that might not be there if that egret were absent.<\/p>\n

The critiques I received on all three of these images were overwhelmingly positive.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0believe that even without what some may consider “the perfect head angle” that we can create interesting and compelling avian images.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my bird photos in their galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I believe that even without what some may consider “the perfect head angle” that we can create interesting and compelling avian images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":159349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,27,25,704,709,255,254,26],"tags":[4010,4021,4471,4083,2772,2773,743,351,4120,4116,4121,259,627,626,3980,3988,3989],"class_list":["post-15259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-avian","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-snowy-egrets","category-tricolored-herons","category-utah","tag-american-coot","tag-bird-photography","tag-bird-watching","tag-birding","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-egret","tag-egrets","tag-egretta-thula","tag-egretta-tricolor","tag-fulica-americana","tag-head-angles-2","tag-heron","tag-herons","tag-pinellas-county","tag-snowy-egret","tag-tricolored-heron"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-reflection-mia-mcpherson-8277.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3Y7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15964,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/25\/morning-treasures-from-six-years-ago-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":15259,"position":0},"title":"Morning 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https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-2280.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/snowy-egret-sunrise-mia-mcpherson-2280.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16024,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/10\/02\/tricolored-heron-hunting-the-gulf-of-mexicos-shoreline\/","url_meta":{"origin":15259,"position":1},"title":"Tricolored Heron Hunting The Gulf Of Mexico’s Shoreline","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Tricolored Herons are smaller than Great Blue Herons and larger than Snowy Egrets and all three of these wading birds hunt in many of the same locations along the Gulf Coast.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron hunting the Gulf of Mexico\u2019s shoreline, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/tricolored-heron-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2893.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/tricolored-heron-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2893.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/tricolored-heron-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2893.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/tricolored-heron-foraging-mia-mcpherson-2893.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-fluffing-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-fluffing-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-fluffing-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-fluffing-mia-mcpherson-5891.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1088,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/10\/14\/tricolored-herons\/","url_meta":{"origin":15259,"position":3},"title":"Tricolored Herons","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Another one of my favorite wading birds is the Tricolored Heron, a bird that used to be called the Louisiana Heron. It can be found in estuaries along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, in inland freshwater marshes in Florida.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron side view, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-mia-mcpherson-8889.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7009,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/03\/tricolored-heron-striking-at-prey\/","url_meta":{"origin":15259,"position":4},"title":"Tricolored Heron Striking At Prey","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I am intrigued by how these herons evolved to have long necks that give them the ability to make lightning fast strikes at their prey some distance from their bodies.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tricolored Heron splash down, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-splash-down-mia-mcpherson-3554.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-splash-down-mia-mcpherson-3554.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-splash-down-mia-mcpherson-3554.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tricolored-heron-splash-down-mia-mcpherson-3554.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6462,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/29\/tricolored-heron-twist\/","url_meta":{"origin":15259,"position":5},"title":"Tricolored Heron Twist","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Maybe the Tricolored Heron thought Monday might look better upside down? 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