Cropping conundrum - advice?

[Abby Rose]

I have this picture:

and I think it needs some cropping, but I can't decide. I've tried a few different ways... but it's just one of those things where the more you look at it, the more confused you get. Does anyone have any advice? Is the original fine uncropped? Are any of the versions I've posted below better? Does anyone have a better idea?

Some of my attempts:

a little off the left

a more square approach

 

[Light Artisan]

I like the first (original one) the best I think... that face in there is perfect.

 

[shmne]

I'm kind of curious what the face is there for? First glance I caught it immediately but it doesn't appear as if you were trying to match it up with the branches or anything. Definitely have the eye flow to it in the original one.

 

[arcooke]

First one. I like that the face is more subtle in the first.

 

[Abby Rose]

As to why the face is there, it's sort of a Long Story... read on if you actually care. For one of my assignments in my "process book" (sketch/scrapbook, we had to keep it throughout the semester and now it's due next week) for an art class (I'm an animal science major and a studio art major - no snide comments please), we had to have a "mysterious" section. So I was looking through my fog pictures (because fog is mysterious, right?) because I'm including a photograph or two every few pages in the process book. I saw the round shape in the branches and thought it was nice, so I took a picture of the drawing I did yesterday and stuck it in the round shape.

Or, long story short, I wasn't trying to match the face with the branches, I was trying to match it with the round shape in the branches.

And thank you very much for the advice.

 

[lyonsroar]

Didn't notice the face until the third crop.
Creepin' me out.

 

[tirediron]

My preference would be for #1 but cropped such that the face is off-set from the centre.

 

[Abby Rose]

My preference would be for #1 but cropped such that the face is off-set from the centre.

That's what I was going for in #2

 

[Robin Usagani]

I still think you need to go wider and the face be smaller and located about 1/3 on the side. Awesome BTW.

 

[Abby Rose]

I think the problem is that I can't have the face much to the side (and still be in the round spot) and not have the picture be square-ish. At the time, I had no plans to do anything with the round spot. I barely noticed it. I was just recording the fog, and though maybe I could use the picture as a texture. Sigh.

Here's a try with the rule of thirds, without cropping any off the top like I did in the last one on my original post. But I don't think this helps any more than the others did.

 

[Abby Rose]

Or, one that's very similar to the "original" but I got rid of the top of the sky.

This is ridiculous. I can't choose!

 

[tirediron]

I think the problem is that I can't have the face much to the side (and still be in the round spot) and not have the picture be square-ish. At the time, I had no plans to do anything with the round spot. I barely noticed it. I was just recording the fog, and though maybe I could use the picture as a texture. Sigh.

Here's a try with the rule of thirds, without cropping any off the top like I did in the last one on my original post. But I don't think this helps any more than the others did.

This one, but crop off the sky so that the top of the photo is just a hair below the highest branches located right over the face; that is: So that all of the empty sky is gone.

 

[Abby Rose]

Ah. Gave your idea, tirediron, a shot, but I left a tree on the far left.
But does that leave it too long and skinny?

 

[tirediron]

Depends on the final result, but to my eye, that works.

 

[Robin Usagani]

I like the sky.. LOL.. I wouldnt get rid of it. I guess the way I like it will need you to reshoot.