Nose Room

Portrait painters sometimes use the term "nose room" for the extra compositional space allotted for the direction that a face is looking. 

There seems to be a psychological need to give the face extra room to inhabit, compared to the back of the head. This portrait is by Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) a Finnish-Swedish painter who studied under Gerome.

In this shot from the Ridley Scott film "Kingdom of Heaven," the character is given nose room since he is looking to the right side of the screen. For moving subjects, such as a car, extra space is given in front of the direction of movement, and that's often called "lead room."

Whenever I hear a rule I start thinking of the exceptions. Are there good reasons to violate the nose room principle?



Yes. Putting space behind the head can suggest detachment, alienation, or reverie. It makes the person seem somehow less accessible or more mysterious. This painting by the brilliant rule-breaker Andrew Wyeth shows his subject apparently looking out a window that we can't see.

It invites us to wonder what's inside her mind or outside her house. Even the title takes you beyond the frame: "And Bells on Her Toes."
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Wyeth painting from the Mississippi Museum of Art
Book: Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic