sepiareverb
genius and moron
It needs to be a square. Crop even more. Lose all the crap at the bottom and some of the dead space at the top.
robklurfield
eclipse
not cropping is a fine exercise, but it is silly to make into a way of life.
I'd crop this one twice. do what sepiareverb says and you get a nice abstraction of all those vents, etc. Crop the original image again and you have an interesting picture of the man with his hands in his pockets emerging from the door. Crop it so you have him and the dumpster. Two for the price of one and both of them interesting for different reasons.
Recently, I totally freed myself from the silly notion that I shouldn't crop. I feel much better. And, revisiting some archived images and re-editing them has made my work better, too.
Cropping is cheating? So is thinking impure thoughts. Crop away. Think impure thoughts. Life is short. Enjoy.
I'd crop this one twice. do what sepiareverb says and you get a nice abstraction of all those vents, etc. Crop the original image again and you have an interesting picture of the man with his hands in his pockets emerging from the door. Crop it so you have him and the dumpster. Two for the price of one and both of them interesting for different reasons.
Recently, I totally freed myself from the silly notion that I shouldn't crop. I feel much better. And, revisiting some archived images and re-editing them has made my work better, too.
Cropping is cheating? So is thinking impure thoughts. Crop away. Think impure thoughts. Life is short. Enjoy.
randolph45
Well-known
Depends
Depends
Did Shakespere say something about this [To crop or not to crop,that is the ?]
For me it depends on what I want in the frame. Lately everything I shoot and put in my gallery here is full frame. I try to compose in the finder so no crop is necessary.
That said I do crop when doing mutiple frames for panos.
Depends
Did Shakespere say something about this [To crop or not to crop,that is the ?]
For me it depends on what I want in the frame. Lately everything I shoot and put in my gallery here is full frame. I try to compose in the finder so no crop is necessary.
That said I do crop when doing mutiple frames for panos.
icebear
Veteran
Cropping is always about making a decision. Once you make the decision be consequent and follow it through.
For me the image is about the vent covers at the wall and the human element is nice add on. But if for you the add on is not the main thing about your picture then cut it out.
It's either the dumpster and the person and then you crop out the entire overhead wall, or you optmize the wall and the person and crop out the dumpster completely. The crop you have chosen is halfway inbetween but I guess that's why you asked ...
For me the image is about the vent covers at the wall and the human element is nice add on. But if for you the add on is not the main thing about your picture then cut it out.
It's either the dumpster and the person and then you crop out the entire overhead wall, or you optmize the wall and the person and crop out the dumpster completely. The crop you have chosen is halfway inbetween but I guess that's why you asked ...
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
I prefer the uncropped one...because I know what happens to croppers...
dct
perpetual amateur
Beeing out only with a fixed focal length there are many situations, where I have to SEE THE CROP during the framing.
It is only one of the PP steps cropping the image to what I thought during compositions.
It is only one of the PP steps cropping the image to what I thought during compositions.
Vince Lupo
Whatever
I find the vehicles and the dumpster confusing/cluttering (as well as all that foreground), hence the reason I personally didn't notice the person at first. I'd like to see more of a relationship created between all those lines etc on the building wall and the person.....maybe something like this?
Reminds me of something I read a number of years ago: "Photographers, like sculptors, should strive to remove what is not necessary."
Reminds me of something I read a number of years ago: "Photographers, like sculptors, should strive to remove what is not necessary."
Richard G
Veteran
I already commented in the Gallery, and I'm glad to see others agree with me. Glad to see the uncropped version again too. I really like that shot. The strangeness of that wall only increases in the context of the foreground. The wall forces an abstract interpretation of the foreground and like the contributor noted above, the human element emerges only slowly.
semrich
Well-known
+1 no crop
thegman
Veteran
I prefer it uncropped.
froyd
Veteran
Well, I think the message is loud and clear!
anjoca76
Well-known
Cropping is just editing. It's no different than adjusting exposure or color or anything else. I am a songwriter, and it's very rare that the way I initially write a song is exactly how it is in the finished product. I certainly wouldn't want to read an unedited book!
froyd
Veteran
Since this thread has morphed in something else, I'll add my two cents. Given my original post, I clearly have no qualms about cropping. Especially on the 6x6, where I like the freedom to compose vertically, horizontally or use the full square.
However, having shot lots of slides in the past and having used an SLR with 100% VF coverage, I do appreciate the self-imposed challenge of getting the shot right at the time of capture. Indeed, for a long time, framing and composition were my favorite aspects of taking photographs. Even now that I've switched to the less-precise framing of RF photography, I can see my SLR experience coming to bear.
It's surprising to me to read about a dogmatic approach to uncropped images on an RF forum. For me, part of the learning in switching to RFs was letting go of the desire to place compositional elements at the edge of the frame where I could not be sure they would make it to the negative.
However, having shot lots of slides in the past and having used an SLR with 100% VF coverage, I do appreciate the self-imposed challenge of getting the shot right at the time of capture. Indeed, for a long time, framing and composition were my favorite aspects of taking photographs. Even now that I've switched to the less-precise framing of RF photography, I can see my SLR experience coming to bear.
It's surprising to me to read about a dogmatic approach to uncropped images on an RF forum. For me, part of the learning in switching to RFs was letting go of the desire to place compositional elements at the edge of the frame where I could not be sure they would make it to the negative.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
Still a big part of my game too even with the F4s long, long gone from the mix.
grapejohnson
Well-known
Cropped! Sometimes you just don't have the right lens for the picture, or the time to change. It's not that dramatic of a crop anyway. Think about HCB's picture of the person running with all the cool symmetry: both are much more interesting pictures when cropped. You don't notice the guy in the corner until it's cropped. I like it a lot more that way. The parking lot is distracting, and the side of the building is more interesting with less context. It's your picture, you can do whatever you want with it.