Question for the photographers...
 

...and connaisseurs:

How much "air" above a models head should a picture have?

I noticed that many of the pictures I bought from a content provider have an extreme amount of free space above the models head.
When resizing and cropping the pictures, I don't want to give an impression of narrowness, and the free space can produce sort of a "freedom feeling" in the viewer, still: it's unused space.

Any rules of thumb (you use)?

max. like this one

http://www.glamourgirls.com/ad/marketa.jpg

www.glamourgirls.com

About a 1/4 inch from top when looking at a print. :2 cents:

Erotic nude
http://dtb5.uw.hu/kepek007/009_luba_..._again_009.jpg

1/2 inch for art nude sometimes
http://www.studio-11.co.uk/images/Karla-Nude-01.jpg

much less for fashion
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english...6045131162.jpg

Nice examples and explanations above.

It depends on the pic. Cropping is a part of the creative process too...

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If that hegre-archives chick has real boobs then W O W !!!!

there are no rules really. it's whatever "works".

http://candydreams.com/upload/leila_schoolgirl029.jpg

Exactly! It's called composition and it is an artistic thing that is only for you to decide.

Photography is an ART and a SCIENCE.

I'm reminded of a college photography instructor who once told us it was a good idea to crop off hair on a model because the hairstyle 'dates' the photo.

She wasn't a shining example of a good return on my tuition. I walked out of her lab class a week later and never returned.

Cropping will vary (as others already pointed out above). Generally I go by 'if it looks good, it is good'. I eyeball it much of the time.

Have seen the exact same problem from some content providers, not everyone starting out has a developed eye like Johnny and the other photographers who posted above do.

If you look at Playboy they consistantly cut off the head. At least the few I have flipped through recently.

Never noticed. I only read the articles.

Knowing how to crop well is one of the things that separates the photographers from the guys who own a camera and think that knowing where the shutter button is makes them a pro photographer.

Im a noob at photography, and wont try to act like I know anything, but as others have said I think it varies depending on the background, framing, and situation.

Here's one of mine I like that might be cropped a bit too low, but I like it.

http://www.doyouwannamodel.com/gallery/large/0029.jpg

Thanks for the replies, guys! :thumbsup
I'll now go for an even closer crop at the top of the images than I originally had planned.

And PS: that's a very hot babe in the last pic.

This reminds me of a picture I have taken of an retired sports personality a few years ago. They guy had no more hair on his head. It was for the cover of a European magazine.

I remember the Swedish editor calling me about the pic being on the cover of their next issue and they wanted a photo with 'more hair'. At least, that is what I understood and I was trying to explain to them that the guy had nothing but skin on his head.
A few years later I happened to meet the guy and his wife and they were cracking up laughing when they saw me .... because the editor was actually asking for a shot with more 'air' between the head of the guy and the edge of the photo and not for a photoshop job of his hair ..... funny!

Im still workin on doing a solo site with her. She is hesitant. So far did some pics for her for her portfolio.