Cropping - Process or Just Wing It?

[CadrePilot]

Do you have a process you follow for cropping?
Or do you just play with it until it pleases you?

Here are three from the same large pano:







And another two from a different pano of the same viaduct:





Which would you keep of each batch?
Or would you crop entirely differently?

Thx,
Jon

 

[brett8883]

Do you have a process you follow for cropping?
Or do you just play with it until it pleases you?

Here are three from the same large pano:

View attachment 185632

View attachment 185633

View attachment 185634

And another two from a different pano of the same viaduct:

View attachment 185635

View attachment 185636

Which would you keep of each batch?
Or would you crop entirely differently?

Thx,
Jon

I try to follow some composition rules. For instance in photos like yours I try to use golden ratio or rule of thirds.

 

[Jim Martin]

If I have an image that I like, but the crop doesn't seem obvious, I usually start as @brett8883 mentions and use established rules of composition, but I won't hesitate to deviate from those norms if my eyes tell me otherwise.

I can see your dilemma with those photos. There is a lot going on... gorgeous sky, a landscape with lots of features, lines, and flowing curves. I personally think the photos with a bit less of the water are stronger. Maybe on the last photo, experiment with removing more of the left hand side.

It's a very nice scene. I look forward to seeing how you compose the final image.

 

[brett8883]

If I have an image that I like, but the crop doesn't seem obvious, I usually start as @brett8883 mentions and use established rules of composition, but I won't hesitate to deviate from those norms if my eyes tell me otherwise.

I can see your dilemma with those photos. There is a lot going on... gorgeous sky, a landscape with lots of features, lines, and flowing curves. I personally think the photos with a bit less of the water are stronger. Maybe on the last photo, experiment with removing more of the left hand side.

It's a very nice scene. I look forward to seeing how you compose the final image.

Yea I also ment to mention I won’t hesitate to deviate from the composition rule but I guess I forgot

 

[CadrePilot]

If I have an image that I like, but the crop doesn't seem obvious, I usually start as @brett8883 mentions and use established rules of composition, but I won't hesitate to deviate from those norms if my eyes tell me otherwise.

I can see your dilemma with those photos. There is a lot going on... gorgeous sky, a landscape with lots of features, lines, and flowing curves. I personally think the photos with a bit less of the water are stronger. Maybe on the last photo, experiment with removing more of the left hand side.

It's a very nice scene. I look forward to seeing how you compose the final image.

Thanks for the feedback.

Yeah, it's a really lovely valley. So many visually appealing aspects.

 

[BossBob]

I was puzzled by the various distortions in the image and had to look a a map to see what was looking ‘wrong’. The reservoir dam is distorted into a curve and the viaduct, which is a curve, has been straightened. Other than that, rule of thirds, or if you feel it looks better, break all the dam rules. It’s your picture!

 

[REStewart]

What I normally do is size the ratio to whatever frame or mount I am planning on using.

 

[Ralph thompson]

Agree with all of above, Lightroom (photoshop & probably other software) have all the standard composition overlays as guides, see Development/Tools/Crop Guide Overlays, so its easy to step through them and find the one that “rings”. Then afterwards apply your gut feel, that will be what makes your photographs special. One infrequently mentioned composition I find works sometimes is centreing, for example centreing the horizon works well in some cases but the key to central composition, both horizontal and/or vertical, is to make sure it is dead centre, a little bit off is easily picked-up by our amazing visual senses. August Sander was a famous photographer who made central composition a characteristic of his style.

 

[FLDave]

I suspect that you rook the photo with the intention of being an extreme wide angle panorama picture with distorted lines and no obvious focal point. So, why do you feel the need to crop it to be anything other than the panorama? If you really believe there should have been a focal point, then the time to plan the composition and focal point would have been when you took the photo,. The main reason to crop a picture to a certain size is to make it pleasing to the viewer and to the creator. not to satisfy rules.

 

[DISC]

Lovely scene but any camera flattens an image and I find they never look as great as I recall. There is a better image here so I’ve attempted to show you what I think on my iPhone - not great I admit!

 

[thearborist]

There was no mention of the intended use or purpose of the images. Who are the intended viewers, and how will the images be displayed? This contributes greatly to how and why you are cropping the images.

I like the overall views, showing the broad view of the valley. But have you tried a closer crop to highlight the viaduct? I agree with message #3 about including a little sell water. It is flat uninteresting, so leave just enough to let the viewer see it is there.

Images like this are often intended to invoke certain feelings and memories for the viewer. For you, this means remembering the day you were there and the other things you saw. For others, it means recalling similar scenes or vicariously experiencing the emotions you felt. Give a little thought to what you want the viewer to feel as well as just 'seeing' the picture.

 

[thearborist]

I like this crop (#10- posted as I wrote my first response). The next step with that would be to edit out powerline towers. Easy to do with today's software.

 

[BossBob]

While easy to do, it would misrepresent what is actually there. A bit like most of the models in magazines, airbrushed to death.

 

[thearborist]

That depends on the use and intent of the image. If it must be factual in every detail, then you can't remove them. If the intent is to produce a pleasing landscape image that invokes certain emotions, i.e., a work of art, then removing the towers is not a sin. Would a painter sitting there for a day or two include them?

OTH, I do a lot of litigation consulting, so for that purpose I cannot/do not manipulate by removing those distractions. My personal vacation photos are handled differently.

 

[HeavenBound]

I usually look for two things, Interest and Balance.