Editing Poll: To Crop Or Not To Crop

Apr

27

2015

Easter Sunday, enroute to mass in Vinhais (click to enlarge)

Photography can tell a story in multiple ways using techniques like cropping or colour or bokeh, but especially cropping when there’s people involved. Because of the influence cropping has on the way a photo is perceived, there are times when I’ve been stuck on a picture, trying to decide whether to crop things out or leave them in. When I haven’t been able to decide, sometimes I’ve uploaded two versions (or more) because it was easier. How I managed to survive five years of wedding photography I do not know, because I was faced with this dilemma constantly!

A few weeks ago, I posted a little poll on my Facebook page about the two versions of this picture, to ask people which one they preferred and they could feel free to say why. My little editing polls are few and far between, but I’m always surprised at everyone’s answers. There’s never a clear winner, and everyone’s preferences vary wildly. Reading the responses indulges my curiosity about what people are thinking when they see pictures, and gives me ideas for cropping in-camera.

I don’t know why I forgot to post the poll here, too, but it’s never too late to do it since there are no deadlines. Whether you’ve participated on the Facebook page or not, I’m curious to hear your views on which crop you prefer and why.

April 5, 2015
Album: Easter 2015 Road Trip (PT/ES)

2 comments

Paulo
In the first photo my attention is immediately drawn to the two central men (oh, rule of thirds, you’re so powerful). Therefore I notice the crowd right away, realize how they are all looking down as if coming from a lost football match or going to a funeral (the nice clothes would suggest something like the latter). There’s also sort of an implied motion to the photo, maybe because of how all the people were caught in a different moment of their steps. They’re all walking upwards towards something – on second thought, maybe that’s why they all seem to be looking at the floor, as you usually do when you’re going up a street. I’m wishing for somebody’s head to pop out of that window and ask them where they’re going, to clear this doubt…
In the second photo I just notice one man at first, occupying the central place in the photo. I notice how his shadow is cast behind him, suggesting he’s walking towards the sun, caught half way through a step. His hanging jacket indicates a strong wind blow, frozen in time in a very artificial pose but very beautifully in focus and with the light shinning on it just right, as if it’s been posing there for a long time waiting for this photo to be taken. It is only after noticing the jacket that I realize the first man is not alone – there’s someone else walking a few meters in front of him on that flat but very uneven street. And that man leads me to realize there’s some sort of construction peeking over the first man’s shoulder. I don’t care about who they are, where they’re coming or going to – I just marvel at how everything conjugated in that one instant to pose for this photo.
The first photo tells me a story, has a flow to it. The second photo shows me the details of that one instant frozen in time. I see more in the first photo after having seen the second – eventually I might have noticed those details anyway, but the second photo brought them to me faster. I do not get a story from the second one: it’s more artistic, more poetic – leaves everything to the observer’s interpretation. Yet, liking to observe people’s behaviors like I do (or maybe because I like to focus more on the facts that on suppositions – educational hazard) the first photo caught my attention much faster than the second.
I might print the second one in big format, to hang on a wall in the living room, for instance. But to print on photo paper or on a calendar, I’d definitely go with the first one. So I can’t choose one over the other – but both go very well together on this post 🙂
April 28, 2015 /