The above photo is part of a larger picture, and illustrates the coffee break well, but by how much should I have cropped the original photo?
Should I have included another two people, as below?
Or perhaps I should have left the original alone (or dumped it).
Is cropping a photo cheating? Or is it as acceptable as altering colour balance or "exposure" (as Andrew Denny of Granny Buttons does to one of my pictures here)? Is it more acceptable than setting up a camera to take photos at intervals, and then choosing the one which came out best (as here)?
I do try to frame my photos so that they work without any subsequent tweaking, and I obviously failed in this case. Below is the original, mediocre, photo:
And here's another picture taken four minutes later. Is that a refill, Stan, or are you still pouring your first cup?
I'm not going to publish the photo I took of the view from the shelter. It was another rain-affected defocussed disaster.
I am absolutely NOT a photographer but I had a wry thought that it's only cheating when you use photoshop to 'youthen' your subjects to teenagers, convert their thermos flasks into large cans of graffiti paint and portray them as a gang up to no good ! :-)
ReplyDeleteSue, Indigo Dream
Crop and tweak away is what I say!
ReplyDeleteThe fantastic thing about digital photography is the scope to refine your image after the event, all at no cost whatsoever.
Not only can you make something of a photo when the lighting was far from ideal (into the sun), given enough pixels you can take a photo knowing that you are only going to use say 20% out of it. I find meyelf seeing photos within photo's - if you know what I meean.
I admit to altering and cropping virtully all the photos in Captian Ahab's Watery Tales, but was reassured that Northern Pride (himself a professional photographer) does likewise.
Its better to view it as liberating rather than cheating!
On reflection, I think I like Sue's response better!
ReplyDeleteI always used to try and frame my picture as I finally wanted it to appear, but this is a hang up from the old optical days and I often find that I am reminding myself that it is a DSLR I am using and can crop later. Of course for a better quality photo you want to get as close to the final frame as possible.
ReplyDeleteSue, what a good idea!
ReplyDeleteCaptain Ahab, Yes, I'm inclined to agree.
Alan, Yes, of course it's best to frame up properly, and your photos exemplify how to do that. And it's a lot less hassle if all you have to do is just resize before publishing!
I agree with Sue. I also think that sometimes you just cannot get the frame you want with the initial shot, so that cropping gives you the real image you were looking for. As Captain Ahab says, you can take a picture already seeing the picture within.
ReplyDeleteI dunno halfie, this is all too "negative" (excuse pun) rest assured that no-one else see's anything wrong with your piccies... Err, well I don't...
ReplyDeleteH
Heather, Jan said the same thing to me yesterday. That I was being too negative about my photos. So I'm sorry, and I'll try not to be in future. OK? (Nice pun, by the way, no excuses necessary!)
ReplyDeleteSo it's all happy snapping from now on, even if you're pretending lol
ReplyDeleteH
Anything that makes a picture better makes a picture better!
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the other sometimes useful method when you don't have the right size lens available.
ReplyDeleteTake a series of photos 9 images or so and stitch them together using panoramic software etc.
I have managed some very satisfactory images using this technique with free software.
Otherwise, I frame for the finished image but often see a picture within a picture when "developing".
Neil, that sounds like good advice, as long as the content isn't changed.
ReplyDeleteColin, I haven't tried the joining together thing - perhaps something for when I have more time!
12 comments! (Now 13) is this a record?
ReplyDeleteDrum roll please, here's no 14 lol
ReplyDeleteH !
Is commenting on one's own post (to increase the tally of comments) cheating? Only joking!
ReplyDeleteNah, I think it's only polite to respond to someone or thank them for advice!
ReplyDeleteSo by order of the court of "Halfie being unsure about things" there's no cheating on all counts -- case closed, you're free to go lol.
Flippin hek, I feel like a judge...
H
Thanks for that, Heather. I'm a free man, woo hoo!
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by all this photo-
ReplyDeletegraphic analysis. Someday, I might understand it. Meanwhile, I shall just go on enjoying the photos Halfie takes.
Anonymous, I wish you would identify yourself! But thank you anyway.
ReplyDeleteI bet it's your dad!
ReplyDelete