Landscape or Portrait for this scenic view

[SomeHitchHiker]

Landscape or Portrait? Too much sky? Too much editing?

View attachment 249841

 

[NS: Nikon Shooter]

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That is equivalent to asking in which key to sing a song? It very much
depends on the final use of it.

Clone the image and try one at 16:9 H and at 4:5 V and experiment
where to set the either frame. Have a good time!

 

[Jeff15]

Landscape for me.....

 

[zombiesniper]

Orientation is a REALLY subjective question. So in order to answer it I'll ask a question first.

What is the intended use/orientation of the image? If you say you don't have one, either way is and is not correct since there is no reason to pick one over the other. Personal preference only matters to the viewer and since it's your image it's your choice.

Editing: I prefer the first image. Less hazy, although it looks a little over saturated.
Again this is a personal preference and with no context as to your goal it's all I can do.

Too much sky? No clue again. I have no context.

I know it's not what you wanted to hear but lazy questions get lazy answers.

 

[Warhorse]

I'm digging the landscape one!

 

[limr]

I agree that the purpose of the image should be considered when making any kind of edits.

Having said that, I am going for Option C: The second picture cropped at the top until it's square. The road then becomes a leading line all the way from left to right, but the top heavy portrait crop doesn't take attention away from it and the other details that are more visible than in the 1st picture. A square helps balance it all out.

In terms of the color processing, I find the lighter yellow-green sections to be overdone. That one patch by the bottom right of the second picture is a bit lurid. I agree with the assessment above that the second shot is a bit hazy and could be clarified a bit.

 

[Original katomi]

landscape for me and like posts 4&6 the colours are a bit over the top. Try taking them back by about 10%

 

[webestang64]

This shot for sure says to me landscape. Portrait crop makes me think of a brochure or magazine cover but as just an enlargement on the wall.....landscape.
I do not think too much sky, those clouds look nice.

 

[Lez325]

Portrait shots usually for people = Landscape - well landscapes

I like the 1st image but the saturation is is little bit OTT for my personal taste


Les

 

[slat]

I think I like what limr has said about making it more square. If you cropped everything off the top from the first blue sky break in the clouds it does look better to me that way.

 

[smoke665]

Wow there's a lot to look at.........and that is the problem. Whatever crop/orientation you use, you sometimes need to force feed it to the viewer. When someone stands on a hilltop looking at the horizon, the brain automatically gets tunnel vision allowing it to tune out all that's around it and home in on specific segments. When you look at an image you're taking a slice of the scene, get to much and the viewer's brain becomes confused, it has no reference on what to tune out, causing the eye to wander trying to find something to lock on to. It's your job to decide what you want the viewer to see, so that when they first look at the image, their eye is drawn to the focal point.

My suggestion would be to use a 14x11 crop, put the top 1/3 line on the horizon. That will give you a bottom loaded image, with a cap of clouds, and more than enough details in between for the eye to discover.

 

[SquarePeg]

Great scene! Where is this?

Landscape orientation but with more foreground and less sky (sort of what @limr said but not full square). While this is a good sky it’s not worthy of being the primary subject or even half the subject when compared to the foreground, in my opinion. The second shot is a much better overall composition but the sky is comparing with the foreground. I would dehaze a bit, bring down that bright green area and spot edit to lighten and sharpen that road to draw the eye to it. Just a tiny, not obviously noticeable bit will do the trick.

 

[mrca]

Are you trying to make it a comment on the sweeping landscape? If so landscape mode. If it is a commentary on how roads have invaded nature, portrait mode as the cars and roadway gain a prominence. Before we even pick up the camera, much less press the shutter, we should know what we are trying to say then use all the controls and techniques available to maximize that message. It's why I recommend using a viewing card regularly. It gets the itchy trigger finger off the shutter button and makes you SEE not just LOOK.

 

[bulldurham]

Would you post the SOOC shot as a jpeg at as high a resolution this forum can stand. Color saturation is killing this shot regardless of v/h orientation.

 

[AlanKlein]

The second is more interesting because you can see things better. Interestingly, you can turn the second portrait into a nice landscape too by cutting off the top part of the sky. So now you have three pictures to choose from.