In reply to Fraser: I know what you mean, but personally I think all those shots have been orientated incorrectly!
The first definitely, the second I think needs a 90 degree rotation and the final image I think illustrates your point best, but I still think it needs flipping 180.
If the whole focus of the shot is on the climber's eyes and facial expression, which I think is almost, but not quite, the case in the final image, then I can see the logic in having a climbing shot with all the other lines wrong in order to have the face right, but otherwise I think it makes sense as I described it above, I know it makes it easier to connect with the face, and if this is the sole point of the shot then great, but most of the time I feel climbing shots are about climbing; i.e. shape of body, ropes, rock, exposure, atmosphere and those are more important than the climber's face (in most cases in my opinion).
Would you accept my logic, if you could in fact call it that, in the above diagram makes sense, apart from where the focus of the shot is to engage with the climber's face at the expense of losing the exposure etc? Or were you proposing something else?
Just interested...
For example if you showed the last image to a non-climber as it is I bet they wouldn't think it was 8a+, whereas if it was flipped I think it has a lot more impact...?