Exercise: Cropping

Budapest Parliament View

My first choice for this exercise is a picture taken in Budapest of the parliament along the Danube.

I like that picture but I think it could benefit from a fresh new way of seeing the picture.

This is the original size.

For my first crop, I decided to concentrate on the parliament itself. Although it works well if the parliament was the main subject I think it lacks interest and doesn't portray the whole beauty of the scenery.

The best choice is probably to apply a panoramic format, this works well for this landscape and I like the fact it includes the Danube, the bridge and the boat. I don't think the original picture benefits much from the extra sky or water. This is my favourite crop.

This next crop is to try focus on the boat and the Danube, including the bridge. A vertical frame is aimed at giving a fresh new view to the image. It is now a whole new images and loses all location information. This could almost be in any city with a river, mountains at the back and a bridge.

Making the frame in landscape format and including more water in the foreground makes the subject of the picture being clearly the boat. Although it lacks other points of interest it works out better than the vertical format.

From all the different crops I feel the panoramic one works out best and better than the original.

Tiger in the Zoo

This is from a trip to the zoo in Servion, about 40 km away from Lausanne. I think it's a Siberian tiger.

Here is the original file.

My first crop is to keep the image as it is but cut out unuseful parts with a tighter crop. Although it doesn't change the picture dramatically I think it already improves it.

Now trying a closer crop, focusing on his face and mainly the eyes. It's not bad but as the nose is cut off and not much of his face is in the frame it doesn't make it so appealing.

On this next crop I try a vertical frame and decide to rotate his head to the right to make it look straight. I quite like it but the background of the the upper part of the frame doesn't bring much and having his head straight makes it too standard.

My last crop, with another close-up at his face works better, compared to the original picture it brings attention to his expression. I think this image benefits from this last crop and leaves room to how the tiger feels looking at his eyes, a mixture of sadness, peacefulness and curiousity can be perceived from the viewers eyes. As nothing indicates where he is standing it puts him out of the context of a zoo.

Street in Lausanne

This picture was taken on a rainy day in a street of Lausanne. There's no apparent subject and I think cropping it could give a new meaning to it. Here is the original picture.

My first crop is a first attempt at getting rid of parts of the frame that add nothing. cropping it to the right of the second lamp post does the trick for me. The image is now framed by both lamp posts on each side.

This crop is trying to capture the scene with people in it. I choose to make a vertical crop with the lamp post in it and on the opposite side the white curved road line. I think the picture benefits from those 2 opposite curves. The picture doesn't say much but leaves freedom to one's imagination.

Next crop concentrates on the car on the left. I made that choice because the car is somehow imposing and with a closer look at the picture one can see a "danger" sign in the back on the upper left part of the frame. Somehow I feel they work together.

Making the other car the center of the frame puts the whole picture out of context. one could think the car is moving towards the viewer although it was stopped at a red light at the time of shooting. There's also no indication on how big the road is. My first impression is the car is driving towards me.

This last crop was really about framing the 3 lamp posts on one hand and the 3 cars waiting on the opposite side of the frame. The vertical format makes it all work out for me.
The advert for a car at the bottom of the first lamp post is a bonus.

From all these above crops the first and last one works out best for me. With the first crop being a clear improvement to the original picture.

From now on, I will be less scared of cropping a picture. Sometimes losing information is not a bad thing and helps focus or gives a whole new meaning to a picture.