crop or no crop; critique request

[froyd]

What do you guys think, crop or no crop on the images below. This would be for a 11x17 print.

PS- the cropped version would get the same PP as the original image to get the tones more neutral/warm.

 

[Keith]

Definitely uncropped for me. 🙂

 

[Jubb Jubb]

Cropping's cheating.

Looks better without crop anyway.

 

[Joosep]

This is my two cents....

 

[goffer]

uncropped... although I didn't notice the human element until I saw the cropped version.

 

[anjoca76]

Uncropped for me too.

 

[lynnb]

definitely uncropped

 

[farlymac]

I like the uncropped version only because of the person coming out the door. Other than that, I think the foreground is wasted space. Just my personal taste. The crop that I would suggest is a square one of just the wall.

PF

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Cropping is most certainly not cheating. I often shoot with a Hasselblad, and love the square format, but sometimes I want a rectangular image, and I crop with no regrets. The final image is all that matters; God will not damn you to Hell for cropping, and those who see your work do not care.

That said, I prefer the uncropped version of this image.

 

[Keith]

If cropping is 'cheating' then so is using a lens longer than the natural human visual perspective.

 

[Jubb Jubb]

hah, i am a purist. not meaning to upset anyone, just my belief. I could never crop an image.

 

[froyd]

If that matters, I could not get closer to the subject with my feet (I was at the edge of a balcony) but I would have if it had been a possibility or I would have switched to a longer lens if I had one.

However, my main subject was just the wall with lines and smoke vents (similar to farlymac's idea)...I just could not get close enough. Then the bell boy (it's the rear of an hotel) came out for a smoke and I made the best of my situation by including the human element. Unfortunately, i found it was lost in the capture...too much going on, I think.

The crop was an effort to restore some balance... enlarge the wall space above and make the human element more visible.

Still, interesting to know you all preferred the wide version. Should have listened to my wife in the first place and not wasted everybody's time. I'll go report the results of the poll and prepare myself for the "I-told-you-so". 😛

 

[Pablito]

hah, i am a purist. not meaning to upset anyone, just my belief. I could never crop an image.

A purist, or a blind follower of the camera manufacturer who chose the aspect ratio of the camera you bought?
😱
It's like the fallacy of the clean plate club; despite what grandma said, it's ok to leave some food on your plate if you're full.

 

[igi]

no crop for me as well... that image just looks worthy of inspection and curiosity when uncropped.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A purist, or a blind follower of the camera manufacturer who chose the aspect ratio of the camera you bought?
😱
It's like the fallacy of the clean plate club; despite what grandma said, it's ok to leave some food on your plate if you're full.

Exactly. If you keep eating after you're full, you'll get fat. If you base your work's merit on such silly technical requirements, you likely have little to say as an artist, so you try to make your work sound important by trumpeting things that have no bearing on the image itself.

 

[tuanvinh2000]

no crop works better for me in this case.

 

[Jubb Jubb]

A purist, or a blind follower of the camera manufacturer who chose the aspect ratio of the camera you bought?
😱
It's like the fallacy of the clean plate club; despite what grandma said, it's ok to leave some food on your plate if you're full.

well i shoot with an xpan majority of the time, so why would i crop? the aspect ratio of the camera is the reason i bought it.

 

[Moto-Uno]

Seems almost humorous to hear about eating too much and becoming fat from a resident of the USofA! Having said that,someone must of had a gentler grandmother that would let
them leave the table with food on their plate,( weren't you supposed to feel guilty about
someone starving in Africa?)
Regards,Peter

 

[Samouraï]

Sometimes cropping moves the center of the lens away from the center of a photo, and this bothers me. And unless you frame with cropping in mind, I tend to prefer original size.

Oh yeah, and uncropped for me too. Though I didn't notice the guy at first; bet it plays better printed.

 

[batey_1020]

No crop for me. When i looked at it i saw the white wall then lead to the dumpster and the human interaction.
On the cropped one i just get distracted by the wall and dont know where to look.