Zoe

[TNH]

This is my cat, Zoe. Yea, I know she's cute.



Exif Data:

Camera Nikon Coolpix S3000
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/3.2
Focal Length 4.9 mm
ISO Speed 80
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Auto, Did not fire

I tried to get down to her level to take this, because I've learned that when you're taking pictures of people and animals, it's more interesting when you're at the subject's level than if you were looking down on them. Do you think I've done a good job of taking this from her point of view, or should I try again?

But my main question is, should I crop it in closer to her face, so that her face is the main object of the picture? Would that help take away from the distractions in the background a little? Or do you like the crop the way it is?!

I want to do what I can to make this picture better, because I kind of like it. So any and all suggestions, comments and critiques are MORE than welcome!!
And if editing this picture yourself and posting it here would help you make your point better, then feel free to have a whack at it. I am open to any suggestions from you all.

Thanks!

[natalie_danielle]

I love that you got down on your cat's level, very good call. The only thing that bothers me about the view point (and this isn't your fault) is that her tail looks like its growing out of her head haha. I would have cropped it differently simply because the background is quite distracting, especially the tire swing... Also, the image isn't really following the rule of thirds, which isn't always necessary but I think in this case it would have helped. I have cropped it down the way I would have done, you can see in the attachment. I think it makes the image more powerful.

[dolphin1]

I like this photo of your cat just the way it is! She is so cute! =) The only thing I would have done differently is include her front paw in the picture instead of cutting it off.

[samutsim]

I like this pic! Zoe is too cute. I do think that the tire swing is distracting. I don't have the necessary know how yet, but I believe you could clone it out in PP (either Lightroom or PS). Also, having a shallower DOF (bigger aperture) might have been better.

[TNH]

Originally Posted by natalie_danielle

I love that you got down on your cat's level, very good call. The only thing that bothers me about the view point (and this isn't your fault) is that her tail looks like its growing out of her head haha. I would have cropped it differently simply because the background is quite distracting, especially the tire swing... Also, the image isn't really following the rule of thirds, which isn't always necessary but I think in this case it would have helped. I have cropped it down the way I would have done, you can see in the attachment. I think it makes the image more powerful.

Thank you! I never noticed the tail growing out of her head, lol. I do really like that crop. It really helps it, I think. I'll try cropping it like that. Thank you so much for putting the time in to give you critique on this! I really appreciate it.

[TNH]

Originally Posted by dolphin1

I like this photo of your cat just the way it is! She is so cute! =) The only thing I would have done differently is include her front paw in the picture instead of cutting it off.

Thank you! She is cute, and she knows it.
The original had some more of her paw in it, but the end was still cut off. This is the original crop. I may try cropping it again, I really like natalie_danielle's crop.

[TNH]

Originally Posted by samutsim

I like this pic! Zoe is too cute. I do think that the tire swing is distracting. I don't have the necessary know how yet, but I believe you could clone it out in PP (either Lightroom or PS). Also, having a shallower DOF (bigger aperture) might have been better.

Thank you, thank you, Samar!
I have Gimp. I probably could clone it out, and it would look better, but I am terrible at cloning. I'll still try, though, and post the results here. I don't have the patience most of the time to do a good cloning job. Sometimes my results are acceptable, though. Most of the time not! When I clone, you can usually tell that I cloned.
Thanks for that advice! The camera I have now, you can't change the aperture, but the one that I am planning to buy, you can. So I'll try again then. Do you know if you can blur the background of an image in Gimp?

[TNH]

Do you guys like these two crops better? Or should I try again? I think they are both good, but which (if either) do you think is the better improvement?
The first one shows more of her paw. The second one is like natalie_danielle's crop.





Thanks so much everyone!! You've been a big help.

[natalie_danielle]

Originally Posted by TNH

Thank you! I never noticed the tail growing out of her head, lol. I do really like that crop. It really helps it, I think. I'll try cropping it like that. Thank you so much for putting the time in to give you critique on this! I really appreciate it.

Thanks! To me, whenever I cut off a part of the animal (which is easy when they're moving) I like to do tighter crops that way it looks intentional. If the image had her whole tail and paws in it I wouldn't have cropped it in so much. Just something to think about - use it for people too... if you accidentally cut of someone's foot or hand (or tippy top of head), crop it tighter so it looks intentional

[TNH]

Originally Posted by natalie_danielle

Thanks! To me, whenever I cut off a part of the animal (which is easy when they're moving) I like to do tighter crops that way it looks intentional. If the image had her whole tail and paws in it I wouldn't have cropped it in so much. Just something to think about - use it for people too... if you accidentally cut of someone's foot or hand (or tippy top of head), crop it tighter so it looks intentional

That's a great tip! I never thought of that, that's a great idea. Thanks, I'll remember that.
btw, did you do anything else to that picture besides crop it? Because it looks a lot clearer, or sharper than mine. Or it might just be my eyes. It looks better, anyway.