Lens-Artists Challenge: Cropping the Shot

~ oneletterup

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #96: Cropping the Shot

This week’s challenge is a chance to explore a photo editing technique and the benefits of cropping the shot.  Show us how cropping helped to improve an image and create a desired effect.  Include the shot “before” and “after” so we can see the difference.

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I often call this time of year “fun with flowers” since I am always gifted with beautiful bouquets on Mother’s Day and my birthday. Yellow blossoms…my favorite flower color…are usually in the mix.

This year was no exception. A bouquet of tulips arrived from my son…and I had a great adventure yesterday chasing the sun as it crept around the room streaming through the windows in our corner condo unit. I moved the vase from window to window as the afternoon wore on. Crouching…bending…balancing…catching the light from as many angles as I could.

Fifty four shots later, I happened to glance at the clock…oh wait I should make dinner....

Here are a few samples from “Fun with Flowers 2020″…

For this shot I stood above the bouquet, but wanted to highlight the yellow tulip.

yellow tulip orig
Tulip – full frame

Which I did…after the crop.

yellow tulip crop
Tulip – cropped

I captured another shot crouched on the floor looking up. Unfortunately it also included the corner of the window…

tulip full
Tulip – looking up, full frame

I still wanted to salvage the image, but obviously without the distraction of the window frame in the corner.

Cropping proved to be more of a challenge than usual.

These are two different cropped versions. Each emphasizing different aspects of how the light plays with the petals. As much as I enjoy cropping as a way to create, I really didn’t want to eliminate too much in this case.

Which do you like better?

tulip crop 1
Tulip Crop #1

 

tulip crop 2
Tulip Crop #2

Any ideas and suggestions welcome!

Published by oneletterup

27 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Challenge: Cropping the Shot”

  2. Those are truly spectacular images, OLU. I must say that I like the first, further back, photograph better than the crop. (The cropped picture is great, too.) The yellow tulip is still highlighted, but it is also surrounded by all of that other floral lusciousness. And Tulip Crop #1 gets my vote because of the inclusion of the razor-sharp white edge of the petals in the lower left corner. You had a fabulously productive photographic adventure yesterday!

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    1. Well thank you for your detailed comment! I also equally like the un-cropped version of the first image (floral lusciousness is a great description). Yes it was a productive, as well as fun, adventure 🙂

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  3. You are an incredibly talented photographer, Andrea! (Do you do professional work, like for weddings, etc?) These are gorgeous shots…as far as the cropping, I choose the first one 🙂 Having a corner spot is wonderful–my unit is 2nd floor corner 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much Leslie. No, I’m not a professional but thanks for the compliment 😊. I think I like the first crop a bit better too! I’m lucky our unit gets a lot of light.

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  6. The flowers are beautiful OLU. For the second, I prefer the uncropped version. My suggestion would be to fix the window issue with photoshop by blacking it out. It’s one of the few things you really can’t crop effectively

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    1. Thank you Tina. I actually prefer the uncropped version of the 2nd photo as well, but I don’t have photoshop. Blacking it out would solve the issue though. Good idea!

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  8. Chasing the light can be so exciting to a photographer. Tulips are so photogenic. Loved seeing your different crops. I agree with Tina because most of the petals are in view and the angle is perfect. I use the free version of GIMP for my editing. Cloning is one of my favorite tools to make unwanted things disappear. Love the light in all your images. ❤

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  10. Wait … I read all the comments and agree and then a comment caught my eye. Did I just finally see your name in the comments? What a beautiful name it is! Okay, here’s my take on the photos. Flowers and backlit sun are so much fun to view and take photos of. If you’re trying to see the whole flower then the full shot is best. For me though, I tend to like a cropped shot from a different angle or less of the whole flower like you did in Crop #2. I like the intrigue to the shot and the zig-zag leading lines of the leaves going to the left to the bright center and then off to the right on the darker petal at the top. You’ve got talent, yes you do!

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    1. Thanks! Yes, I love a backlit sun – and the cropping is really interesting to tackle. As you say, the different angles and lines add to the intrigue. I think a shift one way or the other changes the whole look. I appreciate your feedback! Your macro shots always fascinate! (yes, I mentioned my name in my 2 year anniversary blog post on February 26th 🙂)

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      1. You’re welcome. I appreciate all the feedback and encouragement you share with me.
        Crap … that’s when I was off the grid, so I missed that post. 😦 Send me the link, I want to read it!!! I’m so sorry I missed it!

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