Big Time Crop - good or bad?

[mwatson]

Camera Pentax K10D
Exposure 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 18 mm
ISO Speed 200

Okay, I know I may be getting a little silly but my hair is so shaggy and before I got it cut, I wanted to take this picture for my Literal Idioms project.

How does this crop work? I wanted the bird to be the focus of the picture so I minimalized as much as possible and decided to follow the rule of thirds here. Is this too much of a crop? Should I have placed more of my head in the picture?

I had a light to the upper camera left to give the bird some light and another even with my face on camera right to define the rest of my face. I am still not sure if I am happy with the lighting.

[Niresangwa]

This is great. Really good use of negative space that forces the focus on the 'joke'. I"m a fan of this kind of crop and use it frequently, and to see it used so well on this forum is refreshing. Very well executed. Don't add more of your face... it will dilute the curiosity and focus.

As far as other opinions, I thin kit would be much better in a BnW conversion, which will play to the strength of the age which is simplicity. Between the scarlet bird, your pinkish skin and ruddy hair, on a mid-grey background, it's just too much for me, and leaves me feeling like it's a little underexposed...though a curves adjustment would probably help, i'd still go with a plain, bright contrasty black and white.

[BigFuzzy]

I'm running out the door, but before i forgot, I just wanted to say +1 to everything Steve said (how odd we agree!). To me this is the best image you've posted yet because even though it's clearly very posed and set up, it just doesn't feel that way as most (if not all) of your others have felt. Well done. Love the cropping/composition and the simplicity of it all.

Yeah, definitely do b&w, but DO NOT do a selective coloring and leave the bird red, I'll most definitely kill you. (the wink is there to take off the edge of a very very serious threat! Selective coloring almost always = death, you've been warned! )

[Gulf Coast Girl]

Don't listen to BF...... I like selective coloring

[Doug Sundseth]

You should definitely go with selective coloring --Halloween is coming up, so zombies are in vogue right now.

Unless you don't want zombies? Nah, unpossible.

[mwatson]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

As far as other opinions, I thin kit would be much better in a BnW conversion, which will play to the strength of the age which is simplicity. Between the scarlet bird, your pinkish skin and ruddy hair, on a mid-grey background, it's just too much for me, and leaves me feeling like it's a little underexposed...though a curves adjustment would probably help, i'd still go with a plain, bright contrasty black and white.

I like your idea about the B/W conversion. Since I went minimalist, it should do wonders.
Thank you.

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

I'm running out the door, but before i forgot, I just wanted to say +1 to everything Steve said (how odd we agree!). To me this is the best image you've posted yet because even though it's clearly very posed and set up, it just doesn't feel that way as most (if not all) of your others have felt. Well done. Love the cropping/composition and the simplicity of it all.

Yeah, definitely do b&w, but DO NOT do a selective coloring and leave the bird red, I'll most definitely kill you. (the wink is there to take off the edge of a very very serious threat! Selective coloring almost always = death, you've been warned! )

Even though you are across the pond, as they say, I will head your warnings and not edit this into selective coloring. I am not a big fan of it.

Originally Posted by Gulf Coast Girl

Don't listen to BF...... I like selective coloring

See above, he said he would kill me.

Originally Posted by Doug Sundseth

You should definitely go with selective coloring --Halloween is coming up, so zombies are in vogue right now.

Unless you don't want zombies? Nah, unpossible.