Twisted yellow rose

[Bradley57]

Shooting roses in the rain in pdx, Just wondering what the rule of thumb might be when croping flowers?


Nikon F100

Nikon 55mm macro w/ ext. tube

F/8 1/60 sec.

Fuji 160c

[LindaKnox]

Your photo is lovely. I especially like the water droplets. I am also a beginner and I always struggle with cropping as well. I've gotten lots of advice about it; most seem to have differing opinions. I have decided to crop for the following reasons:
* Too much empty/non-important area around my focal point
* Something is distracting the viewer from my desired focal point
* I may want to include some complimentary colors to enhance my focal point such as blurry leaves surrounding flower petals. This may depend on whether there are multiple colors in the petals or whether they are a consistent color. I also consider the interest of the flower center as well as focus details.
* I have decided to crop to please myself rather than critics. This is a rather subjective art form, after all, and I take pictures for pure enjoyment.

I look forward to more posts from you. I think you did a lovely job on this shot.

[Bradley57]

Thanks linda for all the imput. It really helps to comfirm my thoughts on this subject. I did do some cropping on this pic, but left some of the dark background to add some contrast and this did help add a little to the pic, in my opinion. There does seem to be a fine line on how far to go, Thanks much, I also look forward in seeing your future posts.: