More Crop and Composition

[Hill Country Hack]

I grabbed this shot yesterday. I initially liked the final crop and I am now second guessing myself. I would like a tighter crop from the top, but to do that and maintain the 5x7 (or any standard sizing) ratio, I lose the minimal negative space in front of the lead motorcycle and it just looks a bit off.

I have yet to get rid of the distracting piece of dirt under the yellow motorcycle and I was wondering if the background darks in the image are too light.



1/800
f5.6
focal length 85mm
ISO-400

[Doug Sundseth]

First, I think you can worry less about standard crops. You can always mat up to a standard size, and the uneven borders usually don't even get noticed.

Cropping from the top might make for a stronger photo, both by emphasizing the height of the bikes above the ground and by moving them off the horizontal centerline.

I agree that you shouldn't crop in front of the lead bike, for the reasons you mention.

Is the piece of dirt you're worrying about just that black speck? If so, clone it, but don't worry too much.

I'd consider cloning out the power lines, pain though that is.

I might try to up the contrast in the clouds for more drama, but that might be more trouble than it's worth, and might not improve the photo.

[Hill Country Hack]

Thanks for the input Doug.

I use LR and I'm not too sure I can do selective contrast. I'll check in my book. Ditto for cloning out the power lines. LR is not the best tool for cloning. I already bumped the saturation and luminence on the bikes. I'll bump a bit more and see how that works.

[Doug Sundseth]

With LR, you can use an adjustment brush with increased contrast or vibrance (assuming you want to do that much work, of course). You're right that the power lines would be really painful, though.