Crop Question

[deeky]

This photo was originally shot in landscape format. After the rest of the processing, I was messing with the crop a little to see about cleaning it up. I was never quite settled with the landscape, so on a whim I flipped my dimensions and went to the portrait orientation. Not the original direction of it, but I think I like it better.

Thoughts?

1.
IMG_0352a1 by breckmiller, on Flickr

2.
IMG_0352a2 by breckmiller, on Flickr

 

[Derrel]

Did you try a square?

 

[RVT1K]

I like the 2nd one better but mostly because its pulled in tighter.

 

[Jeff G]

I prefer the crop, helps bring the main focus to the flower.

 

[black pepper]

i'm with derrel on this one, a square crop is the way to go. of the 2 i prefer the second one because it emphasizes the flower, however i think the left side is too tight. a square crop would give the same emphasis on the flower while giving it a little more breathing room without forcing you to put it in the center of the frame.

 

[K9Kirk]

It's relative. I like #2 because it's closer up and shows more detail but I like #1 best because it's not just another close up of a flower, I like how the soft bloom in the background accompanies it. I like pics that focus on something, a little zoomed but at the same time still show it's surroundings a little to give the pic a little more character.

 

[Flying Panda]

It's relative.

This comment is the bottom line in my opinion. I normally ask myself; "What is the image going to be used for?" Just for viewing - social media, website, email, phone. Ratio, size and formats are all relative. Am I going to place the photo on a forum for everyone to critique? Does a client want the image framed to mount it on a wall? My client's preferences are always based on their wants and not on my opinions - unless I am specifically asked for a suggestion. Is the image going to be used as desktop wallpaper. If so, what size monitor will it be placed on? Landscape or portrait orientation? I have a 27" wide screen and a 34" ultra wide screen - ratios are completely different. You get the gist. When it comes down to it, everyone's opinions are relative to what each and everyone likes and dislikes. I've seen some wierd formatted photographs in my time but it all comes down to the image quality vs. the way it is portrayed because what the image was originally used for is what mattered to the owner and not the viewer. So, and again this is just my opinion, I normally view the quality of the subject matter in the photograph and leave the way it is portrayed up to the owner.

 

[K9Kirk]

It's relative.

This comment is the bottom line in my opinion. I normally ask myself; "What is the image going to be used for?" Just for viewing - social media, website, email, phone. Ratio, size and formats are all relative. Am I going to place the photo on a forum for everyone to critique? Does a client want the image framed to mount it on a wall? My client's preferences are always based on their wants and not on my opinions - unless I am specifically asked for a suggestion. Is the image going to be used as desktop wallpaper. If so, what size monitor will it be placed on? Landscape or portrait orientation? I have a 27" wide screen and a 34" ultra wide screen - ratios are completely different. You get the gist. When it comes down to it, everyone's opinions are relative to what each and everyone likes and dislikes. I've seen some wierd formatted photographs in my time but it all comes down to the image quality vs. the way it is portrayed because what the image was originally used for is what mattered to the owner and not the viewer. So, and again this is just my opinion, I normally view the quality of the subject matter in the photograph and leave the way it is portrayed up to the owner.

It can get ridiculous at times. When I first got my fish-eye lens I got the most ridiculous responses telling me how and what I should've done with the lens as though I was trying to take real serious pics with it when I explained that I had just received it, it was dark out and I was only stepping out to test it's focal range and see how much the lens would gather in a pic. It's why I like animals better than people at times.

 

[Flying Panda]

@K9Kirk - I can personally attest to your experiences. It is very hard sometimes to develope "thick skin" when reading critiques, even when it concerns others. I have to admit here that my reply above was not motivated on this particular thread but elsewhere on the forum. Most critiques I have read on this forum, my short time as member, have been termed well and have been very constructive but there are always concerns that we tend to forget: we are engaging in a highly subjective craft (photography) which demands innate abilities which not everybody possesses. Our society has been socially engineered to "class" certain talented people above others - which isn't right. Everyone deserves to have their efforts respected. I remember the old adage "if you don't have anything good to say then don't say anything at all". Let us all be careful how we construct and articulate our critiques so as to respect the feelings of others and exists in harmony.

 

[deeky]

Thanks for all of the replies. I am well aware that different uses will require different crops. That's why I always have a copy of the photo with finished processing and no cropping so that I have the most available image to crop per use later when the issue comes up. I'm not shooting for any clients, so their desires are non-existent for me.

There were a couple of different ways to see the image and perhaps the question was digging more into the key elements that you see in the image as reflected in the cropping. I got some good feedback on that, so thanks.

I was, of course, focused on the flower and wanted something with the rest of the branch running off to the right for a little room for movement in the photo. I didn't intend for the branch below the blossom to be so crisply in-focus. When it appeared there, I think it gave me another option on how to see the finished shot. But that said, I wish I would have had a little more room below the last leaf. Oh well, shoulda coulda woulda.