Need help on crop/framing

[Chaoslillith]

Hello all,

I found some cool shots today while walking the pooch and wanted some input on cropping.

Let me know which you think has the better impact.

1. This one is a little fuzzy was screwing around with focal lengths.



2.



and

1A




2A



Let me know what you think. I think the closer crops are always better, I have a hard time liking shots from farther back for some reason.

[Sterling]

I like 1A the best. The issue with the first two is that you have to ask yourself, "What am I trying to portray here?" What caught your eye that made you take the photo? Once you can clearly answer those questions for yourself, you will find that your photos will more clearly express your intent. As a viewer, I'm not sure. Was it the chairs? Was it the tree? Was it the gravel? Was it some geometric shape? Was it the texture of the wall? I can sort of see how the three chairs may have been the subject but there's too much other stuff going on to be sure.

[OsmosisStudios]

Those are all extraordinarily soft. What did you use to take them?

[Chaoslillith]

Sterling,

The first set it was how the empty chairs looked with the hibernating tree. I just loved the symmetry of it. When I took the pic from the side and got the tree's shadow I wanted to make that part of the pic but I wasn't sure if that made it too "busy".

The second set was all about the reflections at first, then I really wanted to focus on the geometric shapes that the stairway was making. That second pic is actually just a crop of the first pic. When I was taking those a Harris Hawk of all things flew in front of me and I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get a decent pic of it (failed at that hehe. Trees were all in the way ).

Osmosis,

I use a Panasonc Lumx DMC-Fz8 and figured out how to change the focal length so I was tinkering with that in all these shots. There are no special lenses etc. They make look a little softer as I took some noise out too.

Thanks for the feedback. I think what you said Sterling is the important part. Just decide what your subject is and go from there.

Thanks!

[OsmosisStudios]

That's not just soft from de-noising (which shouldnt be high in those situations): that's flat out SOFT.

[Chaoslillith]

The only thing I have noticed is that changing focal lengths brings a softness if I over do it.

[OsmosisStudios]

It shouldnt be NEARLY that bad. Are you getting into a digital zoom? I dont know if the FZ-8 has that function, but that could be the "overdoing it".

[Aegea]

I like the first one best, it has a kind of classic feel to it, and I like the fact that the chairs are all subtly different. Since you asked for cropping comments, I'd crop it into a square format just below the base of the tree, I think the parking space in front detracts from the image. That being said, it's still too soft to be worth saving. Go back and take it again! (And don't clip the left side of the tree!)

[Chaoslillith]

Osmosis,

I do have digital zoom on the camera. I will experiment with the zoom and the focal length. I do not think I zoomed it that far but I could have.

Aegea,

Thanks for the feedback. I will try to go get the same shot on Sunday, hopefully the chairs are still there.

Thanks again.

[Raoul Isidro]

I think you captured a UFO on photo 1A...
Nice cloudless sky there, you should have taken more shots!
A few more on the reflection of the water would also be nice!
Cheers!