URGENT - What would be a good crop on this?

[astroNikon]

Raj - look for vertical items in your photo for checking the verticals. (I can't see the original so I showed the fixed one)
I highlighted a few here which are basically poles.
Also the child was a perfect vertical now.

The lady walking isn't a perfect vertical but if you can identify the angle she is walking and leg locations etc you can do that too. But it's usually the background.


Landscapes can be easier as you have a horizon.

 

[Raj_55555]

If you shot street, I would recommend you to shoot more horizontals. Verticals are good for portraits, with street images they look almost claustrophobic, to my eye at least. It needs context. If it is a pedestrian, he/she needs some space to walk in. Show more, try to use a horizontal composition , do not place your main subject centrally instead try to place him/her against an interesting background.

Well that's funny.. I got an advice (on TPF) a few days back that I should shoot more verticals as Streets are vertical things.. It's just interesting how different photographers thing about the same scenario differently I'll definitely try to keep the background in mind from now on, thanks sashbar

Raj - look for vertical items in your photo for checking the verticals. (I can't see the original so I showed the fixed one)
I highlighted a few here which are basically poles.
Also the child was a perfect vertical now.

The lady walking isn't a perfect vertical but if you can identify the angle she is walking and leg locations etc you can do that too. But it's usually the background.

Landscapes can be easier as you have a horizon.

Wow! Looking at this picture now, that makes a lot of sense to me.. Thank you so much Steve for going through the trouble, really appreciate it!!

 

[sashbar]

If you shot street, I would recommend you to shoot more horizontals. Verticals are good for portraits, with street images they look almost claustrophobic, to my eye at least. It needs context. If it is a pedestrian, he/she needs some space to walk in. Show more, try to use a horizontal composition , do not place your main subject centrally instead try to place him/her against an interesting background.

Well that's funny.. I got an advice (on TPF) a few days back that I should shoot more verticals as Streets are vertical things.. It's just interesting how different photographers thing about the same scenario differently I'll definitely try to keep the background in mind from now on, thanks sashbar

Vertical streets are called stairs and elevators. Architecture is mostly vertical. Most movement on the street is horizontal. It does not mean that one should not shoot verticals. I know one pro street shooter who shoots about 60% verticals. BUT. Street photography ( again, with exceptions) looks natural. Most street shooters use close to 35 mm lenses. Why? Because it is the closest to our natural vision. Most use deep DoF. Why? Because they need context and because that is how we see. Our eye sight does not have a shallow, selective DoF. Same with selective colour. Only pigeons (afaik) have natural selective colour vision.

Now. Our natural vision is horizontal. Probably because for hundreds of thousands of years the dangers would most likely come from left or right rather that above and beneath. It is actually the same now, since cows still do not fly That's why horizontal format is natural, sorry to all verticals lovers. Have you noticed that all cinema screens, for some weird reason, are horizontal? No sane person would argue that it needs to be vertical.

So. I would argue that most horizontal street frames are compromises. I expose myself to criticism here of course. But just think about it. Why do you crop the street frame and make it vertical, therefore unnatural for our normal vision? Because you want to isolate the subject and cut off the distracting background. Street shot is always the subject(s) AND the background. That only means that the background was not good enough if it needs cropping.

As a parallel. A portrait is like Frank Sinatra - he sings and most people do not care about his orchestra, it is like a backdrop. No one remembers his orchestras, apart from his fans. A street shot is like Deep Purple where the guitar, bass, keyboards are as important as Ian Gillan's voice. (Led Zeppelin will do if you despise DP. ) Easy. You shoot portraits - think Sinatra or Ella. You shoot street - think DP or Led Zepp. Or, maybe, The Clash. :mrgreen:

Now. Just as an illustration: an example of a pedestrian (in more than one sense) shot that I took yesterday. I was walking along the building site and it crossed my mind that that blue wall could be a backdrop for a nice colourful shot. What I needed was contrasting colours. I was lucky when in a moment I saw that guy (I can bet my mortgage this guy has some recognisable features to your Indian soul ). So we were walking in opposite directions, I just raised my camera and took one shot.

Here we have a great character, but a haphazard composition with (horror) selective DoF. Of course, I can crop here and there, do a bit of cloning and turn this shot into a portrait that is not bad actually for a passing shot. But to be honest I do not care about such portrait. Why? Because I do not know this guy. This portrait raises a lot of question. Who is this guy? Why he is there?
The unedited street shot shows that he is just a stranger who was walking past me. Cut-off figures, varts and all, as a street shot, even if there is no strong composition and the shot is, as I said, pedestrian, - I still prefer the horizontal, because it puts the guy into some context. You see the movement, the street flow, and even with no street as such you feel it is the street, some public place, and this guy is just another stranger, nothing more, nothing less..

As they say, your mileage may vary, and other people can see street differently, but I just wanted to share with you some of things that are worth thinking about. Hope it helps.

 

[sashbar]

.. and to prove that I do shoot street verticals sometimes, this is the one I shot yesterday as well. Sometimes streets are indeed vertical

 

[Raj_55555]

As a parallel. A portrait is like Frank Sinatra - he sings and most people do not care about his orchestra, it is like a backdrop. No one remembers his orchestras, apart from his fans. A street shot is like Deep Purple where the guitar, bass, keyboards are as important as Ian Gillan's voice. (Led Zeppelin will do if you despise DP. ) Easy. You shoot portraits - think Sinatra or Ella. You shoot street - think DP or Led Zepp. Or, maybe, The Clash. :mrgreen:

As they say, your mileage may vary, and other people can see street differently, but I just wanted to share with you some of things that are worth thinking about. Hope it helps.

It does help, and at the very least makes me think. I was starting to make a habit out of shooting verticals, maybe I'll keep an open mind next time. And thanks for the examples, they really helped put your words in context. Unfortunately though, I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I've never heard of Frank Sinatra,Ian Gillan,Led Zeppelin or Ella :blushing:. Well, I've heard of Frank, but never his work unfortunately.. Something to look forward to I guess!

I can bet my mortgage this guy has some recognisable features to your Indian soul

Yes, he's a Sikh, and the way he's looking at you you are dead Considering the trouble you went through to write convey your message, here's a fun little info for you on Sikhs..

Sikh are a very proud race & are raelly respected in India, the only religion whose followers you would never find begging in the streets of India.

Every Sikh is addressed as a Sardar (Chief); they usually always keep a dagger on them(read 5 K's of sikhism) and each of them are said to be equivalent of 125000 men in battle. They're the warrior race of India, if you will! Interesting, isn't it?

 

[sashbar]

I can bet my mortgage this guy has some recognisable features to your Indian soul

Yes, he's a Sikh, and the way he's looking at you you are dead Considering the trouble you went through to write convey your message, here's a fun little info for you on Sikhs..

Sikh are a very proud race & are raelly respected in India, the only religion whose followers you would never find begging in the streets of India.

Every Sikh is addressed as a Sardar (Chief); they usually always keep a dagger on them(read 5 K's of sikhism) and each of them are said to be equivalent of 125000 men in battle. They're the warrior race of India, if you will! Interesting, isn't it?

Fascianting. Next time I see him, I will ask him to pose