Cropping Images

Over time I've tried to crop less since my aim as a photographer is to get the image perfect straight out of the camera. I've trained my eye to compose the photo after I envision what I want to shoot. But even after finalizing the photo on the computer, I will notice different ways of cropping I didn't think of when I hit the shutter. I've learned over time – also a lesson reinforced to me in Design Basics Index – that changing your composition on images can dramatically impact the photo, depending on the message you want to get across. I added a bit of a twist to a recomposition exercise by taking my own photos – some edited, some not – and finding different ways in which I could re-frame them with cropping. Here's what I ended up with.

Orchid
This first image was taken at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens in upstate New York last year. It was shot with a film camera, which is what I take with me to shoot on personal trips.

For this image, I did a standard closeup-crop focusing on this orchid. I liked the idea of the crop filling the frame, and also giving it a rule-of-thirds composition. Grain is common in film, and usually, I like it but I'm unsure I do in this case.

Guys' Socks
This is an image from a wedding I photographed a few weeks ago in which the groom really wanted to have me get a photo of the guys' socks.

For the re-composed version, I decided to veer from keeping the aspect ratio and strictly focused on the socks, creating an extreme rectangular crop. 

Wedding Couple
This is the couple whose wedding I photographed. I purposely framed them in the center, which is me breaking rules I knew I could get away with.

I saw a couple different re-composition options with this shot. The first was to make it vertical and the second one was a more intimate close up of their bodies.

Ferry Wait Line
This was a film shot I took last year during a vacation to North Carolina's Outer Banks. In this original, the horizon and ground are even, so I wanted to change it up a bit.

I decided to reduce the ground first, and then crop the frame in toward the left, so the image is more aligned with the rule of thirds, and the focal point goes toward the entrance ramps to the ferry.

Bird

This is another film photo and taken at a zoo in North Carolina, of which I liked the original framing.

The recomposed version is more of a close up while still maintaining the rule-of-thirds element.

Bionic man

Finally, this is a photographer, who has a prosthetic "bionic" arm after an accident many years ago. I photographed him for a publication earlier this year. This image – or one very close to it – was cropped for publication. The published version cut out the cabinet to the right.

For the re-composed version, I wanted to solely focus on his left hand. I did try a crop where both cameras were in the frame, but I found I didn't know where exactly my eye should go. So instead I decided to focus on the most interesting aspect of him. The platform in which he is resting his arm on is a 360-degree camera used for real estate photography.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments on these recomposed images.

References: 
- Krause, J. (2004). Design Basics Index: A Graphic Designer's Guide to Designing Effective Compositions, Selecting Dynamic Components and Developing Creative Concepts. David & Charles: UK.

Shuva