Stick the Landing

[TheCheesWizz]

My main question about this picture is about the cropping. Should I crop in more, or maybe just take some off the top and bottom. Any other suggestions/comments would be appreciated.


Camera: Cannon SX10IS
Exposure Time: 0.0063 s (1/160)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focus Dist.: 1.09m
ISO Equiv.: 200

[mrteacherdude]

From my perspective, I think your photo has good balance and a sense of depth. Others may see it differently of course. As far as cropping goes, it seems to me that it depends on what you are trying to convey with this photo. If you just want a closeup of the hopper, then you should definitely crop tight around it. If your intentions were to show the depth by leaving the unfocused leaf, then I think this works as well. It's not too difficult for me to imagine that the distant leaf is where the grasshopper is going to go, which I personally find appealing. I do think some may find the stem in the lower right corner to be distracting and may allow the eye to travel along the stem and leave the photo, which you don't want. I don't mind it there because, for me, it provides context.

Overall, I'm not sure if I've helped much. Play around with it a little to see how you like it best and see if it conveys the message or story you intended.

[dogzrule]

I agree with mrteacherdude, this picture is telling a story, and it's up to the viewer to decide the ending. The only thing I would crop out, and only slightly, is the very bottom edge of the flower in the bottom left hand corner. The little blurry spot is kinda distracting.

[TheCheesWizz]

Thanks for the replies, it was very helpful. I'm amazed with how many times I looked at this picture and never saw the blurry spot on the flower. I tried cropping out the blurry spot, however when I do I also have to crop a little of the right side out (to get rid of the extra stem). Doing this makes the leaf look funny because part of it is off the picture. Should I crop out the blurry or keep all the leaf.