I've gotten into 16x9's recently and wanted to redo one of my favorite photos. I've uploaded here the original 2x3 photo along with my cropped 16x9. My question is whether this crop is okay, or whether it might be better to include more of the jetty and less of the sky. This would make sense being that the jetty rocks are what's in focus and this would follow the rule of thirds a bit better. But I almost kind of like the person near the center of the shot; it really adds some mood to the photo. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
There’s not a lot between the two, but for me, the bottom one looks more balanced than the one on top. If anything, I would crop another 3” on the top one, giving it a more wide screen look, but that will just put the focus on the sky and the man, which will be too centered.
Your image makes me wish I were there, Trevor! It feels to me that you're "squandering" a bit of that gorgeous sky, and compromising the form of the upper right cloud by cropping the sky at all. The rock mass does look a bit too heavy in the original, but I agree with Adrian that overall it's the better balanced of the two. Love your processing - I doubt it looked this good straight up. I'd crop a little off the rocks alone. Here's a version with - shock! horror! - the horizon bisecting the image. The "rules" are proven by the exceptions, after all. What do you think? I think I would've tried an asymmetric image by swinging the camera or moving to one side, but this may have been no better. Hope to see more from you.
Thanks so much for the remarks Chris! I do like your version including more of the sky. In all fairness the original 2x3 does the picture the best justice as it is a bit more balanced, but I love the sleekness of the 16x9! The asymmetric would have have been hard as the person in the shot is actually me, and I'm taking the picture with a remote shutter control, so I had to stay within range. I do love your version though, I may have to try that!
+1 to Chris's comment! The narrower crop makes it feel more open, less heavy. Besides that, this is an absolutely beautiful and immersive image, and the processing is spot on. Wonderful work!
Very pretty image! I think it works in both to be honest, so there isn't a lot to gain in making monumental changes, at least for me. I prefer the cropped in version, but I think you also need to consider image use. Some people have preferences for specific aspect ratios and some don't, and panoramas don't always present well on some media. If you don't care about aspect ratio and just want the most pleasing composition using a crop, I'd probably crop in and go 2.5:1 - even wider (this is personal preference and not all will agree with me). I'd try to crop so you can get the corner of the frame close to aligning with where the rock meets the edge of the frame, and try to get that cloud on the top left to hit the top left corner or near by. The idea with this crop is to have lines coming from nearly all corners which direct the viewer to the subject in the center of the image with little distraction. Also, the cloud in the top right is pretty, but I find that it draws the eye away from the subject in the center of the frame. If you want people to be drawn right to the subject in the middle, then I'd try to lessen the impact of that cloud or crop it out a bit. I tried cropping - see below. Again, this is personal preference and I really don't think it is necessary as for me the image works in either of the options you've presented. Well done!
Wow, thanks so much for the reply! This is great advice!
Both work for me but i prefer the second