Here we have an image of a lass on the beach at low tide and also that image cropped. Comments about the background are invited. Don't bother to comment on shadow detail; this is an image on PlusX aged 42 years.
IMHO the backgrounds in both are great if in 1st your goal is to emphasize her isolation and loneliness, 2nd if emphasis just on model is desired. Backgrounds should often emphasize what the photographer is trying to emphasize. That simple.
Jim, in the first one, the model and the rocks are about the same size. Thus, each is competing with the other for attention. The second one works, as the model is the featured subject. However, compositionally, she is too centered. It would be nice to have her a bit more to the right of the photograph, looking towards the center.
--Bob
Jim Tonne wrote:
Here we have an image of a lass on the beach at low tide and also that image cropped. Comments about the background are invited. Don't bother to comment on shadow detail; this is an image on PlusX aged 42 years.
Also, the photo is great overall in both crops.
i agree, the 2 images "say" different things. There is a strange effect on the figure, particularly in the cropped image. Perhaps it was loss of resolution, you may have scanned it to a lower resolution that became obvious when it was cropped.
In the first image the rocks are much darker than the model which draws my eyes to the rocks. The model seems secondary. That’s just my take. The second image is all about the model.
I like how the background in the first photo sets the context of the same, but I do prefer the tighter crop overall.
#2 just says more than the one with the rocks. The rocks, in my opinion, draw attention away from the intended subject.
John Hicks wrote:
Excellent photographs
I thank y'all ( that's how they larned me to talk in Tennessee ) for your comments. The photos were done in 1980. These two were used to make the last two pages of an 8x11 Shutterfly book. It had about 40 images on 30 pages. The book was a gift for the model, who happens to be my daughter.
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