Crop Opinions Please
Dec 10, 2013 02:09:42 #
This is a shot of an adorable 17 year old who, I'm sure, has at least 1.3 million photos of her being adorable. What I wanted was attitude and I'm pleased with what I got. What I want from you guys is your opinion on where to crop. The wide shot is as taken the cropped image is my first thought. What do you guys think.
Dec 10, 2013 05:51:00 #
I definitely like the first shot the best. I love the expression in the face. (I teach school and usually don't have to request my 17 year olds to produce attitude) I really like the color of the jacket and I also like the pose. The only problem I have is that I would like to see the hand in sharper focus. The face is sharp; but This type of composition is best (again, this is just me) when it is all sharp. You might be able to sharpen it in PS without destroying to much of the original image. Other than that, this is really a nice portrait.
Dec 10, 2013 06:46:58 #
Dec 10, 2013 09:06:19 #
I am for in lots tighter, though this question really should be in the Post Processing section, since you are not asking for a critique or analysis.
Dec 10, 2013 10:10:00 #
Dave Johnson wrote:
This is a shot of an adorable 17 year old who, I'm sure, has at least 1.3 million photos of her being adorable. What I wanted was attitude and I'm pleased with what I got. What I want from you guys is your opinion on where to crop. The wide shot is as taken the cropped image is my first thought. What do you guys think.
Honestly, I find her pose very awkward. Her right hand on the slats is particularly awkward. Her neck extension looks uncomfortable, and I think that her shoulders being totally parallel to the axis looks (there's that word again) awkward. Therefore, short of a retake, I think a very tight crop is in order, from about whatever's in her jacket pocket (pen?) up. I also think she's too close to the slats but that would be because she has her hand on them. The light isn't bad, it's in what we call "broad" position, lighting the side of the face nearest the camera. There are strong catchlights in the eyes, so the eyes draw your attention, but there's little light in the hair so it looks flat.
I don't want to suggest that it's completely terrible, and it does radiate "attitude," but utterly honestly this one is not great. :-(
Dec 10, 2013 11:17:33 #
Country's Mama wrote:
I am for in lots tighter, though this question really should be in the Post Processing section, since you are not asking for a critique or analysis.
* * *
As a portrait,if that was the intention,it doesn't quite get there,especially with the hand awkwardly placed.
It is perfectly acceptable to offer the suggestion of a crop in a critique and especially for anything where it is not possible to go back for another try. In that case, I would suggest the upper right quarter of the frame and then some minimal exp. adjustment. In general it is nice to see the larger view,rather than the head/shoulders or sliced heads we see soften lately.
Always keep in mind the problem of heavily cropping anything, as in my suggestion for a quickie shot of 1/4 of the frame,as it would lose 3/4 of a photograph and then degrade any enlarging if trying to print. I would like to encourage you to think of all the posing suggestions mentioned above for your next adventure with Miss Attitude.
Dec 10, 2013 12:51:55 #
My first thought Dave. In the first one the rail runs out the corner and the second there are some distracting light spots on the other side of the rail. How about a crop with the top being at the 2nd and the bottom being at the 1st. Unless the light spots were addressed the would make it a photo rather than a portrait. Just a thought.
Lee
Lee
Dec 10, 2013 14:28:27 #
OK, so now for the first really odd-ball suggestion. I'm not sure it evinces "attitude", but I played around with rotating your photo counterclockwise about 45 degrees, until the girls eyes lined up horizontally, then cropped out everything but her eyebrows, eyes, and the bridge of her nose. If you have enough resolution in the original shot, this is a pretty amazing photo in its own right.
Dec 10, 2013 15:35:19 #
Dec 10, 2013 17:01:38 #
Thank you all for your comments. They are always welcome. I shot this at the freight elevator that is just outside the studio that I belong to. I asked her to stand like she was talking to some friends and put her hand on the gate. I took a position lower than her head and then I asked her to turn her head and look at me like I was her annoying little brother. When she turned her head was down closer to her shoulder and facing me. I asked her to lift her head to appear more aloof. I'm pretty happy with what I got, I know it's not a traditionally elegant photo but that's not what I was after on this shot.
Nightsky I'm going to include another shot of her just to illustrate the transformation from adorable to annoyed. If you feel it is inappropriate in this thread then go ahead and delete it. You'll get no argument from me.
Nightsky I'm going to include another shot of her just to illustrate the transformation from adorable to annoyed. If you feel it is inappropriate in this thread then go ahead and delete it. You'll get no argument from me.
Dec 10, 2013 17:04:16 #
I'm going to try some of the crops that you folks have suggested and see how it goes. Thanks again for your opinions.
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