Crop your Photos for Maximum Impact
By jason - up to 2007 (archived) • Apr 27th, 2007 • Category: Loose EndsTips from PopPhoto:
“The Problem: A lovely shot done with good technique, but our resident nitpickers weren’t happy with (what else?) that horizon line placed just about dead center. That’s not necessarily terrible in itself, but combined with the big, empty expanses of sky and water, it tends to make the picture feel static.
What now? This picture fairly shouted “panorama!” to us, so that’s what we did: We cropped to give it a panoramic effect, placing the horizon about two-thirds of the way down in the frame in doing so. (We could have done it the other way, showing more water than sky — what do you think?) While we were at it, we noticed that the predominant blue color makes the shot almost monochromatic. So we added a little warmth via the 81A filter under Adobe Photoshop CS2’s Photo Filter Adjustment, which is just enough to add some golden highlights in the clouds and their reflections.
Next time: Photographers justifiably love wide open spaces, but as the saying goes, too much of a good thing… Cropping from top and/or bottom, by subtracting empty space, can help concentrate details and strengthen the overall effect. Look for what creates dynamism in the picture — with sunsets, it’s usually the sweep of clouds and horizon details — and focus the composition on that.
Tech info: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT on tripod with 12-24mm f/4 Tokina AT-X Pro IF DX lens, 1.3 sec at f/22 through polarizer, ISO 100. Small tweaks with Photoshop CS Curves to darken sky.” Read more here
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