Which crop is best?

[ktuli]

I took this shot on our last night dive on my last trip to Turks and Caicos. The nurse sharks had been visiting us on many of the dives, and were being downright friendly (I have video of us petting them up on my blog). This little one really liked my camera or something because she kept coming closer and closer. I have a couple shots (that I kept just for fun) where she is so close, her face is actually not in the frame but rather underneath the lens housing.

But this shot I really really love and as I was processing it, I tried out a couple different crops. Let me know which one you like best...

2x3 Horizontal Original


2x3 Vertical Crop


4x5 Vertical Crop


Thanks for viewing!

- Bill

[Muriel]

I like the first one best. Has it give more room for the nurse shark. Is there any room in front of the shark? I think is needs a l ittle room to be able to move. Beautiful pictures!!!

[ktuli]

Muriel,

Unfortunately, the first one is SOOC. I did want to give a little bit of space in front of the shark, but she kept coming closer and closer - in fact, I had already backed up at least once, and she really just wanted to be close. I know in the first shot it makes it a little unbalanced, but I think I tried to counter that a bit with the tight cropping in the second and third.

Thanks!

- Bill

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Bill,

I'd agree with Muriel that, ideally, a little more space in front would be better, just enough to see a gap between the shadow and the edge of frame.

My vote also went to the first, because I like the background diver (to give a sense of scale) and there is also a triangular 'three points of interest' thing going on with shark, diver and the bloom on the right.

If you really want a cropped version, I'd try 5 x 5 (i.e. square) as I still find #3 is too tight both sides, you might also need to clone out a couple of half included bits of diver though.

Cheers,

[Mike Buckley]

I can choose between the last two crops because they are telling the same story. In that case, I prefer the last of those two crops. I prefer the last of those two crops because of the detail in the background and the fin that are shown on the left side of the image.

I would need to know what story you're trying to tell to choose between the last one and the first one. They are so completely different that they tell different stories.

[ktuli]

Hi Bill,

I'd agree with Muriel that, ideally, a little more space in front would be better, just enough to see a gap between the shadow and the edge of frame.

My vote also went to the first, because I like the background diver (to give a sense of scale) and there is also a triangular 'three points of interest' thing going on with shark, diver and the bloom on the right.

If you really want a cropped version, I'd try 5 x 5 (i.e. square) as I still find #3 is too tight both sides, you might also need to clone out a couple of half included bits of diver though.

Cheers,

Dave,

Thanks for the comments - perhaps I will have to try a square crop too.

- Bill

[ktuli]

I can choose between the last two crops because they are telling the same story. In that case, I prefer the last of those two crops. I prefer the last of those two crops because of the detail in the background and the fin that are shown on the left side of the image.

I would need to know what story you're trying to tell to choose between the last one and the first one. They are so completely different that they tell different stories.

Mike,

You definitely have a point there - I guess the question might be whether the story in the first one versus the second and third are worth telling? The story in the first one is that of an interaction with a couple of divers and a beautiful shark - I think that shot tells that story beautifully when you see the wide-eyed gaze of pure wonderment of my friend in the background. The story of the other two is just that of a close-up of said beautiful shark, and that of how intimate of an encounter I had because she was so friendly and as curious with me as I was with her.

Sorry - guess I should have shared that with the original post.

- Bill

[Mike Buckley]

The story in the first one is that of an interaction with a couple of divers and a beautiful shark

If you can bring out the detail of the diver, it would be a very worthwhile story being told well. As it is, I think the story being told in the third image is being told more effectively.

[NLAlston]

For me? The first one, also.

[dubaiphil]

Definitely the first shot for me (3x2)

The addition of your dive partner makes the shot, and you notice the slight cropping of the shark on the bottom right as a result. Nice photo!

[ktuli]

If you can bring out the detail of the diver, it would be a very worthwhile story being told well. As it is, I think the story being told in the third image is being told more effectively.

Mike,

I will have to see what I can do to brighten that corner of the frame. This was during a night dive, so light fall off is very dramatic (part of what I'd like to convey in these shots). I just don't want to make it look unnatural.

For me? The first one, also.

Thanks for voting Nathan!

Definitely the first shot for me (3x2)

The addition of your dive partner makes the shot, and you notice the slight cropping of the shark on the bottom right as a result. Nice photo!

Phil,

I agree that having Jim in the background certain gives the shot an entirely different feel, but I still wish I had framed it slightly better as others have mentioned... between the shark constantly moving closer and the difficulty I have seeing the entire frame in the viewfinder all at once, I sometimes just have to take what I can get. Everything is constantly in motion under water, so sometimes you have to just fire away and get lucky!

- Bill

[Kris V]

I go strictly by "looks" and for me that's #1. Followed by #3.
As for #2, I think it's too tight, with the left fin cut off.
I leave the technical aspects to others with more experience!

[MaggieR]

#1 does it for me. You get a chance to see his habitat better.

[ktuli]

I go strictly by "looks" and for me that's #1. Followed by #3.
As for #2, I think it's too tight, with the left fin cut off.
I leave the technical aspects to others with more experience!

Kris,

Sometimes that instinctual "going on looks" thing is better than all the technical discussion could ever be. It is the photos that really just grab our attention that really stick, and they are rarely grabbing our attention because of any kind of technical reasons. So making a selection based on that is the best thing I could ask for I think.

As for the second one being "too tight" - it seems that most people feel that way. Not that I disagree - it is a tight crop, but I think when I opted to try that one, I was looking at the curve of the sharks body and how it fit in the frame. I liked how the line starts at her tail around the midline left-right of the upper third, and curves out almost to the left side of the frame and then comes back across the frame right to the bottom right corner. I felt it moved through the frame better than any of the others. So while it is the tightest crop, I feel it has one of the cleanest visual lines of the set. Does anyone agree/disagree?

Thanks!

- Bill

[ronlane]

There's nothing wrong with the SOOC. That just means you did it right the first time and saved some PP on it. Great job. fwit, I voted for the first one too.

[ktuli]

There's nothing wrong with the SOOC. That just means you did it right the first time and saved some PP on it. Great job. fwit, I voted for the first one too.

Thanks Ron!

- Bill