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Leaving in the "Flaws"

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doug anderson

New member
446395797_rQF5B-L.jpg


I'm finding that "cropping" is unsatsifying in many cases. It reduces the power of the original composition. Just because there is something not purely subject in the frame, there is always the suggestion to crop. In the case of the above neoclassic sculpture, the ventilator plate is "impure," and yet, cropping it out annoys me. We live a world where ventilator fans are a fact.

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doug anderson

New member
446395824_LuHtw-L.jpg



Here's another case. One person my suggest I crop out the dark hallway, and yet the eavesdropping woman is listening to the conversation perhaps hidden there. The museum people placed this statue there for a particular reason.
 
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doug anderson

New member
446402956_PS9nz-L.jpg


An here's yet another. Someone will say that there is too much light from the window and that the sensor is overloaded. But what if the light "works?" And what about the explanation plate mounted next to the sculpture?
 
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doug anderson

New member
446402909_hPiKA-L.jpg


Here, I loved the space, including the lights from the ceiling; the painting has to compete with the room itself. I could very easily have just shot the painting.
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Respecting beauty!

doug anderson said:
446395797_rQF5B-L.jpg


I'm finding that "cropping" is unsatsifying in many cases. It reduces the power of the original composition. Just because there is something not purely subject in the frame, there is always the suggestion to crop. In the case of the above neoclassic sculpture, the ventilator plate is "impure," and yet, cropping it out annoys me. We live a world where ventilator fans are a fact.
Click to expand...
Doug,

There's truth in what you say. In any artistic endeavor there are two forces at work. A desire to bring the work to more "perfection" and still maintain the magic of the poetics of the work. As one chips away it can get better and then be killed.

Here, the light is the essence of the attraction. The art work photographed is lit beautifully. You can still do the following:

  • Straighten the picture and correct the verticals, (Select, Select All, Edit, Transform)

  • Select the sculpture, invert, add huge feather, gaussian blur in a separate layer, blend to match

  • Crop what's not needed cautiously.

  • Consider vignetting away from window.

  • Selectively sharpen the artwork itself.

With this on a new layer, mask this version and bring back the original to taste!

Asher
 
J

John Angulat

pro member
Hi Doug,
I'd like to see the images remain as they are (other than a bit of straightening as Asher suggested). I think if you try to crop out the areas you brought up for question, it changes the whole feel or tone of the image (and maybe raise questions about the your choice of exposure).
For example, the first image is lit by the window. I love the way the light falls over the statue. You also know it's being side lit by the window because you see the window. If you were to crop the window out, the image looks incorrectly lit. I don't know if I'm expressing what I mean very well, but the extra elements (like the window) contribute to the overall.
One last comment - I really like the skylight image!
 
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doug anderson

New member
John Angulat said:
Hi Doug,
I'd like to see the images remain as they are (other than a bit of straightening as Asher suggested). I think if you try to crop out the areas you brought up for question, it changes the whole feel or tone of the image (and maybe raise questions about the your choice of exposure).
For example, the first image is lit by the window. I love the way the light falls over the statue. You also know it's being side lit by the window because you see the window. If you were to crop the window out, the image looks incorrectly lit. I don't know if I'm expressing what I mean very well, but the extra elements (like the window) contribute to the overall.
One last comment - I really like the skylight image!
Click to expand...

Thanks, John. I feel the same way. I thought I'd bring up cropping because that is one of the first things people suggest, as if to present a "pure subject." A lot of the cropping I've seen suffocates the subject. The subject looks trapped in a coffin and running out of air. Also, as in painting, there is the issue of negative space. Finding the right balance of subject and negative space is a serious artistic problem.

Also, leaving in certain distortions gives a photo a "theatrical" quality by which the distortion is consciously part of the effect.
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Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Doug,

Where was this taken? Could you retake # 1 with the whole window included? Why not make the light part of the subject and take it to it's full extent of possibilities? I also liked the sky light shot.

Asher
 
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