I recently posted this photo of Monument Valley through a window, and it has generated some friendly disagreement on how it should be cropped.
Here is the original unaltered photo. I invite all of you to work on it and see what you would do if it was your photo. I'm not looking for huge alterations into something entirely different, but just the best way to present this image. My processing included removing distortion, slight exposure change, and cropping.
I'm not qualified, but from a "personal" point of view, I wouldn't have done much different than what you did. For me the photograph is about the view *through* the window. I may have tried cropping out the left frame of the window or leaving the right frame in the crop, but I'm going to assume you did that and felt it didn't work for you in which case as the photographer, it should ultimately be your call. On a final note, when composing the shot, I may have tried to see if I could get the picnic table framed in the pane without screwing up the framing of the rock formations. But, whether intentional or not, it looks like the two panes having the rock formations have their own rule of thirds thing going on which is way cool. So personally, I'm glad you didn't do a lot with this other than some straightening and light touches on exposure and tones. And finally, I wish I had this view out my window!
I prefer the cropped version. It is good for the focus on the landscape and it does not change the concept of the composition. I mean, it is still clear that it is a look out of a window.
@rellimdj Thanks for the great analysis, Joe. One reason I cropped out the right frame is the intruding roof on the right edge. I couldn't quite get the table positioned where I wanted it, so I satisfied myself with darkening that area just a bit, Great observation on the rule of thirds.
@beluga You are so good at photo manipulation, it is great to get a comment on one of my feeble attempts, Beluga. The main source of discussion seems to be whether or not to crop out the picnic table and just show the two center panes of glass.
Cropped as shown. Used Lens Correction in Photoshop to fix the angle the photo was taken at, as well as the distortion, which made cropping easier. Neither the angle or distortion was fixed quite according to my taste, but in a hurry. :-)
@jss Welcome to 365, Jane. I like your approach for a couple of reasons. It gets rid of the picnic table and provides a frame on all four sides. However, the overhanging roof on top and the protrusion on the right troubled me when I first started working on this, and they still bother me. It will be interesting to see what other people think of this. Thanks for your contribution.
@rvwalker@jss What Jane did, but I'd pay more attention to the barrel distortion, how the middle bulges out at us and bows all four sides of the frame. To me, it's not a matter of cropping, but of getting rid of the distortion and "adjusting" the perspective, vertical and horizontal.
You can only pull this one so far and you run out of room. To make it pleasing to me, as with Jane, I have to pull the horizontal and vertical perspectives quite a long way, and you begin to see then the final result that is not "correct" but clearly an angle shot pulled "straight." Also pushing and pulling the perspective loses pixels too and the small jpeg loses significantly some of the crispness it might have had originally. Nothing works like shooting it "correctly" to start with for the perspective you finally want. My two cents worth.
As well as distortion correction, I also cloned out the veranda and stretched out the sky. It felt a but claustrophobic when I saw it the other way. Other than going back and shooting it a little more squared up, I don't think you can do much more. I quite like the extra row of windows at the bottom and barely notice the picnic table.
I really love window shots; here is one of mine: http://365project.org/dtigani/365/2013-08-04
Mostly what David @dtigani did but I also cloned out the pesky picnic table. I know this isn't really what you where asking but it was a fun quick edit.
I love all the these versions of cropping but for me personally the table would have to go, I find it a distraction from this otherwise amazing scene :-)
@frankhymus Thanks for your detailed answer, Frank. I totally agree that usually shooting a photo correctly is the ultimate solution, other than cropping variations. In this case, the photo could not be shot square on to the window to minimize distortion without completely losing the composition. So, we are left with either correcting the distortion in software or learning to love it the way it was shot. Isn't it great to have the necessary tools in digital photography? Anyway, I attempted the distortion correction and didn't do as good a job as i could have. Take a look at David Tagani's attempt. Much better. @dtigani
@dtigani You did a much better job on distortion than I did, David, and I never thought of a sky stretch. I still don't like the protrusion on the right, though. Interesting that you aren't bothered by the picnic table. Note the comments after yours. Thanks for your take on this one.
I don't know anything about how to edit in a photo program, but if I was using this on a scrapbook page, I would be tempted to just use the middle two sections that are so nicely framed and blow them up!
@soren Actually, it is another good alternative to what I was asking, and I see that you got rid of the protrusion on the right, as well as the picnic table. That thing bothered me more than the table for some reason. I think your version looks a little naked with four blank windows. Let's see what others think.
The picnic table doesn't bother me. You've got a window and a deck with a wall around it, the picnic table fits right in. @soren 's version leaves too much negative space at the bottom for my taste.
I find the awning a mite claustrophobic. So I would go with your original crop, @rvwalker , or @dtigani , or with @jss with the awning cloned out. I sort of lean toward the latter, unless your intent is to emphasize the distance of the "Monuments."
@scrappingsandy An interesting point, Sandy. Usage can have a lot to do with how we format a photo. Perhaps a long, skinny format with just the two windows would work better on a scrapbook page than hanging on a wall. Thanks for your comment.
LOL. Not really. This looks great, and I appreciate yet another viewpoint. Except... now it looks a lot like all the other tourist photos taken from outside the window. Thanks for a different take on the subject.
I would have used two middle frames to create a split panorama. The temptation is to lighten dark chocolate tones of the monuments. They are quite dark like cocoa
@peterdegraaff It is surprising how dark these famous buttes are when they are in shadow. We are used to seeing them at sunset when they glow red, but I wasn't lucky enough to be there in great light. Thanks for another idea, Peter.
@dmortega@abirkill Could you share with us what you like about this, Dorrena? Is it the landscape, or the framing, or the combination of both? My thinking is that I have "ordinary" photos taken from the edge of the patio that would look a lot like this if a frame was added. Thanks for your comment.
I love the simplicity of the scene. All the dark window frames detract from the outside which is what we are looking at. It reminds me of looking out the window on a perfect day. I also like that it is stretched to fit the whole scene but doesn't look stretched. Good colors, too.
@dmortega@abirkill I see your point. It really is a different approach to the scene than including the frames in the first place. A similar, and probably better, image could be created by stepping outside the glass, taking a photo from the same viewpoint, cropping it to this format, and adding a frame. Thanks for your insight.
Hi Ross. I'm strictly an amateur but thought I would play with you photo a little. I first made two copies of it and then opened them in Photomatix to make an HDR version. (I made the exposures 1 stop apart). Then I selected Fusion/Auto because I like how it made the picture pop a little. Then I also edited it in picmonkey by rotating it slightly and then cropping it. I adjusted the contrast slightly and increased the color just a tad. This is what I got: I had fun editing it. I hope you don't mind.
@mittens Hi, Marilyn. Wow, you really put some effort into this, and I see that you found yet another cropping variation. I think the place where I can see the biggest difference from some of the other attempts is color and brightness in the window frame. If I'm learning anything from this, it is that there isn't just one way to present a photo "correctly". We all have our own preferences. Thanks for your contribution.
Love the picture of the "mittens." Monument Valley is a great place to take photos. Other than editing out the picnic table, I wouldn't change a thing.
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Cropped as shown. Used Lens Correction in Photoshop to fix the angle the photo was taken at, as well as the distortion, which made cropping easier. Neither the angle or distortion was fixed quite according to my taste, but in a hurry. :-)
You can only pull this one so far and you run out of room. To make it pleasing to me, as with Jane, I have to pull the horizontal and vertical perspectives quite a long way, and you begin to see then the final result that is not "correct" but clearly an angle shot pulled "straight." Also pushing and pulling the perspective loses pixels too and the small jpeg loses significantly some of the crispness it might have had originally. Nothing works like shooting it "correctly" to start with for the perspective you finally want. My two cents worth.
As well as distortion correction, I also cloned out the veranda and stretched out the sky. It felt a but claustrophobic when I saw it the other way. Other than going back and shooting it a little more squared up, I don't think you can do much more. I quite like the extra row of windows at the bottom and barely notice the picnic table.
I really love window shots; here is one of mine: http://365project.org/dtigani/365/2013-08-04
Mostly what David @dtigani did but I also cloned out the pesky picnic table. I know this isn't really what you where asking but it was a fun quick edit.
I find the awning a mite claustrophobic. So I would go with your original crop, @rvwalker , or @dtigani , or with @jss with the awning cloned out. I sort of lean toward the latter, unless your intent is to emphasize the distance of the "Monuments."
...I've gone and missed the point, haven't I.