To Crop or Not

[joebranko]

Many times I am uncertain of whether to crop an image and if so how much. I submit there two views of the same shot to show what I mean:
The first is my original shot with minimum cropping which was intended to show a landscape with a family and their dogs adding some interest to the shot. As I played with it focussing in more on the family I started to feel that that was more interesting than the landscape. What do you think?

Landscape:



Family:

[Ziggy]

I think with this one I would not crop even though I'm not a fan of branches growing out of the top of frames.

I think the first has much better balance.

[Rebel]

I agree with Jim, I prefer the first image.

Also if you crop, you lose that nice streak in the sky.

Its a shame that the family are hidden behind the tree to!

[joebranko]

I think with this one I would not crop even though I'm not a fan of branches growing out of the top of frames.

I think the first has much better balance.

Thanks Jim. Appreciate the input.

[joebranko]

I agree with Jim, I prefer the first image.

Also if you crop, you lose that nice streak in the sky.

Its a shame that the family are hidden behind the tree to!

ThanjsMatt. Yes, I could not get them to stand still! Especially the dogs. I think the dogs were controlling the composition!

[Geoff F]

To be honest, Joe, I don't find either option to be 'over exciting'.

How about a very slight crop of the first image to remove a little from the bottom and right side to retain the best of both alternatives. A good old fashioned compromise.

[Shadowman]

I prefer the second as it provides best spotlight on the subject. If using the first image, I would consider cloning out most of the branches and perhaps leave the one set that's pointing at the subject.

[Manfred M]

Joe - you are using the branches as a partial frame which helps anchor the image. Framing is a compositional tool that is used in a lot of images.

The second image is a lot less defined and in my opinion, is definitely the weaker of the two shots.

[IzzieK]

I am on the side of the first shot...like it better than the cropped second one.