Part 1 - Exercise 9 - Cropping

Part 1 - Exercise 9 - Cropping


In this exercise I have to choose 3 of my own photographs and the explore different crops within them and explain my choices.

For each image I will show the original then screenshots of each crop.

Image 1: Original

Image 1: Crop 1

In crop 1 I cut out the sky and tried to emphasise the washing and the line of the front wall, with the shape of the washing line creating a more prominent diamond shape.

Image 1: Crop 2

In crop 2 I explored a vertical frame and selected the left side, keeping the wall and sky but centralising the roof dormer window to try and create a central peak.

Image 1: Crop 3

With crop 3 I this time tried a panoramic view, isolating only the top row of washing removing the straight line of the front wall. This has the effect of making the washing the only point of interest with a shallow triangle peaking in the middle of the frame.

Image 2: Original

Image 2: Crop 1

With crop 1 I immediately thought I'd go straight towards the opposite of the original by using a vertical crop. This is good for cropping out the distracting background.

Image 2: Crop 2

Crop 2 is where I tried a square format, isolating the children's  expressions and putting a clear emphasis on the main child's eyes.

Image 2: Crop 3

In crop 3 I wanted to stay with the square format although even up the two children by almost having an imaginary  line down the middle of them. This I feel helps balance the whole image and allows us to explore both expressions without being distracted by the background.

Image 3: Original

Image 3: Crop 1

In crop 1 my thought was to use a panoramic format to isolate the side structures of the bridge and eliminate some of the walkway. This also created a symmetrical image the centre very much being the focal point.

Image 3: Crop 2

In crop 2 I stayed with the first format but cropped out more of the walkway and introduced more of the roof. This allows the curve of the side structures to be more visible and effective.

Image 3: Crop 3

With crop 3 I move towards a vertical format, highlighting only the shadows of the left hand side of the bridge going firmly away from the symmetry of the original image and previous crops.

Image 3: Crop 4

Finally in crop 4 I tighten the crop of 3 to eliminate the top curve of the side structure and the roof to allow the whole image to work from bottom left to top right where with prominent dark straight shadows being bent slightly with the handrails towards the lonely figure on the bike disappearing into the dark abyss.

Concluding this exercise I have to say I have been amazed at how easily an image can be changed with simply changing the crop format or size. It is evident that although there is always a great need for maintaining the importance of doing everything to get the shot right when shooting, there is always the chance that coming back to an image and having a fresh approach, that something original and different can come from post shoot cropping.