So I'm trying to different crops here... I'm leaning towards one of the two versions but I'm curious if my choice/reasoning is similar to other people's opinion.
Please choose one of the two different versions or none of the two versions and explain why you chose that version or reject both versions using one or all of the following aspects.
Story (how does the image make you feel or what story can you read from it), Composition (the use of thirds, leading lines, removing unnecessary noise in the foreground/background) and/or Technical (sharpness, exposure, DOF..)
I prefer #2. It just brings you closer to the subject. The first one might be better as a larger piece where you see his surroundings, but for the internet two brings you right into the peaceful face.
Definitely the 2nd, you can see him soaking up the sun on his face, and my eye keeps wandering over to that other lady to see what she's up to in the other shot.
Thanks all. I'm curious if any of you click on the image to see the larger format of each of the images? Everyone here that responded seems to prefer #2 because of the close up of the gentleman's face. Because #2 is a crop of #1, would your experience and selection change if you see #1 in a higher resolution image (1200 x 800) instead of what is presented in this thread.
Personally, I never crop street shots. Out of these 2 I go with number one as the melting snow hints at the winter sun he is enjoying, but I would have had him more in the bottom right had corner. If I was taking the shot though it would have had to be face on, to get that facial expression in more detail.
@jasehoad It would have been nice to get more facial expression but unfortunately , this was a candid moment and I was a distant away (200mm on a APS-C sensor) so I wouldn't have had time to reposition.
But yeah, I like #1 because there are more elements to build a more interesting story.
@jasehoad@davetom I second this idea. I do like the first shot with melting snow but not have him so centered-either vertically or horizontally, maybe crop it more of a rectangle.
The 2nd one because in the first I got distracted by the lady in the background looking in the building. And I would have done a vertical crop to get some of the melting snow and have him a little further back to try to get some of that aloneness.
#1 is much better. It tells a story about a man enjoying the warmth of sun after the winter. Since he's highlighted, he draws the main attention. #2 is just some random dude in a weird-ish pose. Compositionally, #1 is pretty much perfect to me. I'd take a tiny slice off the bottom to drop the man down a bit in a frame + a bit from the right to get him closer to the border rather than center.
Somewhere in between I'd say. Subject is nicely estranged in the first but it doesn't grab your attention like the second one. Subject is too centered in the second one and you don't get the nice composition of the first.
I'd definitely say somewhere in between.
I eventually went with image #1 with a minor crop to help lower the man down and to the left, while maintaining enough melting snow foreground to help with the story.
Although the image in #2 allowed you to see more detail in the man's face and the center of interest, this being the man, was more obvious, I ended up going with a wider POV because it told a better story. It had many more elements to tell a story about a man taking a break and enjoying the warmth of the sun during a winter afternoon.
The woman in the background could be a distraction but she is also another pedestrian taking a break and even the reflection of the people in the window suggest others around this man taking a break. Puddles of water from the melting snow suggest the warmth of the day. The puddle even provides some reflections that are small eye candy in the image. That was what I experienced when I was walking by this scene and this is what I was trying to convey in this image...
I'm not sure if I can show the full size image (I'm not a paying member) but you can look at the large image (cause it looks better large) by clicking the following image below.
I was looking through this and thinking to myself...
No.1 tells a story, the sun is out after some snow, he is enjoying the feeling of the sun and not caring about others... who are also caught up in their own world... but I wanted a slightly tight crop which you have done.... I like it
Photo 1:
Subject is squashed into the background. Foreground is empty. The composition is a bit awkward, doesn’t obey the rule of thirds in an aesthetic way. All the furniture and subject is clumped into the centre third horizontally.
Photo 2:
The close-up draws too much attention to the reflections in the windows behind the man. The substantial cropping makes the perspective look like a long-zoom surveillance shot.
For me neither crop tells the story as indicated by the title, but photo 1 is the stronger of the two crops.
I'm drawn to no 1. I like the scenery around him, showing the snow. Lets you see that he is sitting relaxing in the cold. No 2 is good too but it's effect isn't drawing me in.
It's weird, I always seem to have this problem myself and I always seem to crop photos to zoom in on a person but I always love other peoples shots when zoomed out.
#2 - I can see the man and the wrinkles on his face, turning his face into the sun and soaking it all up. The 2nd one, to me has so much more character, because I can see him more it's almost like I can feel him thinking, soaking up the sun.
I prefer the second for the focus. The man is better detached from the blurry background. On the other hand, I think the crop is too close to his feet. I also like the first, especially with the woman on the left. Did you try cropping the first to remove a bit on the right of the man and on the front (up to the snow pile, that you would keep)? Your pic will be more powerful if the man is less centered on the pic.
I prefer the 2nd one personally. The first one the extra person just doesn't fit in the the image to me. The 2nd one cropped to focus on the gentleman give me a better image to look at and wonder what he is thinking. Love the image.
I have to agree that #2 gives the better impression of the person enjoying the moment though #1 provides the context
My preference is #2 as the extra person tends to draw your attention away from the main subject while you are trying to work out what they are pointing at.
Thanks for asking for constructive feedback, From your 2 images, I vote for neither. Allow me to explain, as that is not an insult.
The first image is too busy. The second is overcropped.
My recommendation: Recrop a little wider. Get the other person into the image, perhaps on the far left. It will help provide a necessary foreground, middleground, and a background. Thus, dimension, with a central focus on the subject.
My 2 cents worth. Only an opinion. I love street photography, and I think you have something here.
How about this.... crop so the woman is just in the left edge, the man is just in the right edge, bottom, crop to just above the chunk of ice so you still see some reflection int he puddle, and top so its just above the woman's hat, i think this 'tells a story'. Whatever you decide, thanks for sharing, and good luck! : ))
No question about it for me. I like #1 because of the play-off between two people in the shot. I feel, though, that it could be cropped, perhaps not quite as close as suggested by @davetom, but making the outer two of the four uprights frame the shot.
Mmmm... I was thinking somewhere in between. The composition of both didn't grab my attention, and I started thinking why. I think the photo would probably work better if it was more panoramic and the subject is more off-centered, like @lorraineb suggests.
I vote #2, a little wider, focal point NOT in the middle. I would put the man off to the right third low, I don't think the woman brings anything to the shot. Make it all about the energy he's feeling from the heat of sun.
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Thanks all. I'm curious if any of you click on the image to see the larger format of each of the images? Everyone here that responded seems to prefer #2 because of the close up of the gentleman's face. Because #2 is a crop of #1, would your experience and selection change if you see #1 in a higher resolution image (1200 x 800) instead of what is presented in this thread.
But yeah, I like #1 because there are more elements to build a more interesting story.
BTW: #1 is uncrop.
I'd definitely say somewhere in between.
I agree with your comment. I thought #1 told a better story and was more interesting an image with various elements to look at.
Thanks all....
I eventually went with image #1 with a minor crop to help lower the man down and to the left, while maintaining enough melting snow foreground to help with the story.
Although the image in #2 allowed you to see more detail in the man's face and the center of interest, this being the man, was more obvious, I ended up going with a wider POV because it told a better story. It had many more elements to tell a story about a man taking a break and enjoying the warmth of the sun during a winter afternoon.
The woman in the background could be a distraction but she is also another pedestrian taking a break and even the reflection of the people in the window suggest others around this man taking a break. Puddles of water from the melting snow suggest the warmth of the day. The puddle even provides some reflections that are small eye candy in the image. That was what I experienced when I was walking by this scene and this is what I was trying to convey in this image...
I'm not sure if I can show the full size image (I'm not a paying member) but you can look at the large image (cause it looks better large) by clicking the following image below.
No.1 tells a story, the sun is out after some snow, he is enjoying the feeling of the sun and not caring about others... who are also caught up in their own world... but I wanted a slightly tight crop which you have done.... I like it
Subject is squashed into the background. Foreground is empty. The composition is a bit awkward, doesn’t obey the rule of thirds in an aesthetic way. All the furniture and subject is clumped into the centre third horizontally.
Photo 2:
The close-up draws too much attention to the reflections in the windows behind the man. The substantial cropping makes the perspective look like a long-zoom surveillance shot.
For me neither crop tells the story as indicated by the title, but photo 1 is the stronger of the two crops.
Thanks for the good feedback.
And I agree with the reflection in the windows in pic#2. I was going to reduce in post, if I decided to pursue that crop.
It's weird, I always seem to have this problem myself and I always seem to crop photos to zoom in on a person but I always love other peoples shots when zoomed out.
My preference is #2 as the extra person tends to draw your attention away from the main subject while you are trying to work out what they are pointing at.
The first image is too busy. The second is overcropped.
My recommendation: Recrop a little wider. Get the other person into the image, perhaps on the far left. It will help provide a necessary foreground, middleground, and a background. Thus, dimension, with a central focus on the subject.
My 2 cents worth. Only an opinion. I love street photography, and I think you have something here.