Proper Crop?

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Hi,
New to this forum I decided to post an issue I have often as to do with the so called rules of composition. I understand the rule of thirds and that you should place your subject with the open space being more to "fly into" or "swim into" ... I want to include the colored water trail created by the ducks movement but it places the moving subject past center and into the "swim into space" Is that OK?
Any comments or suggestions appreciated Thanks much . Also, the colors in this image as well as the entire file are sooo vibrant and strong without any help from ps . Do they look OK or fake to you? I was considering doing a minus on vibrance and saturation.

Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/800
Av( Aperture Value ) 6.3
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 400
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM +2.0x

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Cheryl, lot of this boils down to personal preference. At times, one should not adhere to rules. There are many situations where you might want to include something behind the bird....a take-off-from-water is a typical situation in avian. In those shots, you necessarily do not want more space in front than behind. I think its hard to generalise...every atypical frame needs to be treated independently and finally you crop and arrive at what looks the best.

Having said that, in this shot, I dont think you need to include the whole trail. The colors patterns are probably more important here. A tigher crop will be have more impact. here's my take.

the light must have been very warm. Hence the vibrant colors. No, they dont look fake.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Cheryl, here are a few of my posts that discuss this kinda situation. Lots of comments to learn from. picked mine because I recollected these. You'll find many others here as well.

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for....-Does-it-work
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...Tis-the-season.
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...nst-bright-sun
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...-Gull-take-off
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ull-take-off-2

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Cheryl, here are a few of my posts that discuss this kinda situation. Lots of comments to learn from. picked mine because I recollected these. You'll find many others here as well.

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for....-Does-it-work
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...Tis-the-season.
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...nst-bright-sun
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...-Gull-take-off
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ull-take-off-2

Thanks so much Kaustubh. I appreciate you taking time to respond. I like your crop alot and see what you mean by the trail. Looks really good. I will be sure to check these links out.

[Daniel Cadieux]

In a situation like this I like to put the subject farther ahead than what the "rules" say we should. Fun to experiment with crops sometimes, and for me this works well when cropped by making the trail behind balance out the image with the duck closer to the front (just a quick and dirty crop, mind you):

Here is also an example of something in a similar situation I posted last year with the subject way out in front of the frame with the water trail filling the back part to balance the comp

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...hlight=redhead

Go with what works for you, and if it means going against convention (but with a reason to do so) than all the power to you!

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

In a situation like this I like to put the subject farther ahead than what the "rules" say we should. Fun to experiment with crops sometimes, and for me this works well when cropped by making the trail behind balance out the image with the duck closer to the front (just a quick and dirty crop, mind you):

Here is also an example of something in a similar situation I posted last year with the subject way out in front of the frame with the water trail filling the back part to balance the comp

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...hlight=redhead

Go with what works for you, and if it means going against convention (but with a reason to do so) than all the power to you!

You all have been a great help so Thank you. I need to go back to the way i used to do things naturally instead of worrying about the so called rules. Daniel That is one cool shot of yours and you cropped it just right. Nice to see you working outside the box and it worked well.Your crop here works great as well. Thank you

[Roger Clark]

Cheryl,

When I saw your image, my first thought was go against the norm and move the bird to the left, exiting the frame. Then I saw Daniel's crop: excellent in my opinion.

Roger

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Cheryl,

When I saw your image, my first thought was go against the norm and move the bird to the left, exiting the frame. Then I saw Daniel's crop: excellent in my opinion.

Roger

Hey Roger, thanks for the input. I have to agree with you and I'm glad i posted this to make me feel better about my choice as it just seems to fit the image to go against the "swim into the space ". I must say though I keep looking at Kaustubh's post and I like it alot too.

[Grady Weed]

Originally Posted by Daniel Cadieux
In a situation like this I like to put the subject farther ahead than what the "rules" say we should. Fun to experiment with crops sometimes, and for me this works well when cropped by making the trail behind balance out the image with the duck closer to the front (just a quick and dirty crop, mind you):

Here is also an example of something in a similar situation I posted last year with the subject way out in front of the frame with the water trail filling the back part to balance the comp

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...hlight=redhead

Go with what works for you, and if it means going against convention (but with a reason to do so) than all the power to you!
You all have been a great help so Thank you. I need to go back to the way i used to do things naturally instead of worrying about the so called rules. Daniel That is one cool shot of yours and you cropped it just right. Nice to see you working outside the box and it worked well.Your crop here works great as well. Thank you

Well put Daniel. Go with what YOU LIKE Cheryl. Your photography is for your personal pleasure, then for others as a bonus. By the way, your work is just excellent, and so is your attitude!

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Originally Posted by Daniel Cadieux
In a situation like this I like to put the subject farther ahead than what the "rules" say we should. Fun to experiment with crops sometimes, and for me this works well when cropped by making the trail behind balance out the image with the duck closer to the front (just a quick and dirty crop, mind you):

Here is also an example of something in a similar situation I posted last year with the subject way out in front of the frame with the water trail filling the back part to balance the comp

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...hlight=redhead

Go with what works for you, and if it means going against convention (but with a reason to do so) than all the power to you!
You all have been a great help so Thank you. I need to go back to the way i used to do things naturally instead of worrying about the so called rules. Daniel That is one cool shot of yours and you cropped it just right. Nice to see you working outside the box and it worked well.Your crop here works great as well. Thank you

Well put Daniel. Go with what YOU LIKE Cheryl. Your photography is for your personal pleasure, then for others as a bonus. By the way, your work is just excellent, and so is your attitude!

Thanks so much Grady