Question about composition
Hi,
I made that picture at Staple Island.
I like the feeling of the picture, because it looks like the bird is pretty comfortable, using the rocks as a shelter, and I like the nice flowers and the colours.
But I don't find a really good compostion.
This image is the full image, not cropped at all.
I played araound with the crop, but I am not really happy with it.
So I ask for your advice....
Thanks for looking....
Rose
This is the crop I like most until now.
But I am not sure about ist.
But may be, you think, the picture is not worth playing around with?
That is a tough one. Maybe something like this?
Rose
I'm probably not the one to chime in here, but here goes. I can see why you like this, very, very pretty and I love the flowers, such a nice touch! On a crop, I wonder if from the top you go just under the dark overhanging rock and include everything on the right side and on the left just past the tail? tip and then remove any of the OOF bits still in the frame? Did I make a bit of sense with that?
Hi Rose!
You're right ... the bird and the setting look very nice, but the out-of-focus rocks in the foreground really make cropping difficult, especially since either the bird's tail or wing (can't quite tell which for sure at this size) extends out over the OOF area. Too late to suggest you move right ;) Seems like it would be a lot of work to crop it from the bottom and left and then quick mask out the rock ... the OOF grasses above the birds should be easy to deal with. Actually, a panorama-shaped crop seems to work pretty well, but I'd be tempted to get rid of the flower bud that goes over the bird's head. What do you think of this 2:1 crop? I'll leave to someone more expert than I at Photoshop to try the Quick Mask technique on the rock and the stem to the right of the bird. I do like the lichen on the rock and the flowers counterbalancing the tern. If what appears to be the wing or tail really belongs to another bird in the background, then I'd be tempted to get rid of it too and then you could just crop that OOF rock out.
I sure do like the tighter crops Also cloning the one mass on the left makes a difference Would also take the one twig out from the right of the bird Very lovely image !!!!
Thanks to all of you for working with my picture!
It's true, the tighter crops look much better. I am always afraid to give the birds not enough "air to breathe"...
I like the pano crop but I think the nice rock with the beautiful lichen becomes too important in the picture. Taking your advice I tried another crop, that I want to show here. What do you think about this one?
Last edited by Rosl Roessner; 02-03-2008 at 08:15 AM.
Hi, Does this make any sense, put the head in the rule of thirds in top right cross hairs, and cloned some spots? Gus
Hi, Looking at the photo again, I thought the flower on the rock slightly distracted from the bird? Gus
Yes, these crops get the focus back on the bird. I like your crop, Rose, and would only take out the bud over the bird's head. Gus, your crop without the cut flower looks good too.
I like the last crop by Rosl. I think the flower adds to the image.
The best crop is the one that works best for you but Gus did exactly what I'd have recommended; i.e., the rock and the clear, white flower both compete with your lovely bird and push it to the center of the photo. Fabs clearly has a different opinion. You get to be the final judge.
I really like Rossl's last crop showing the entire lichen area. This is a beautiful bird, in it's habitat -- clearly not a stuffed specimen. I think crops that chop off the symmetrical curves in the lichen cause the lichen to become an unrelating distraction. I say keep as much of the lichen as possible. There's a lot to look at in Rossl's cropped image, but it's all relevant and is a feast for the eye. I'm fine with the plant stalk over the bird's head -- it adds natural unity between the bottom and top of the image. I prefer clear bird images with relevant habitat. Rossl, your final crop does that beautifully!
Last edited by Craig Markham; 02-13-2008 at 02:36 AM.
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