To crop or not to crop

TonyCooper

I dunno about this one. In the full image, I like the weathered look of the window, and the faded lettering below adds something, but it leaves a centered image with those two triangles at the top.




I can crop it down to the window and get a better composition, but I lose the lettering.



Which way would you go?

TangoJuliet

Hmm, I think on this one I would go with the crop, but I would try to get back to the location and see if I could shoot it again with the knowledge of the troublesome first composition, and see if I could get something better.

pathfinder

In a workshop with Jay Maisel, he said to never put lettering, signage in an image unless you specifically want the viewer to read it and remember it..... I have found that pretty good advice.

In your image, I do not understand how the letters "machine" contribute to the image. Is the text the subject, or the window, or just what?

I think maybe the weathering of the letters further emphasizes the weathering of the window, perhaps.

Maybe a crop of just part of the letters, displaying their weathering, but not their message might work....

Richard

I think PF is on the right track. Machine is fairly cryptic in this context, so you might as well be even more cryptic by including only part of the letters. I would try to include a little more than he did at the bottom and right, though you will have to do some cloning or something to prevent the white sky from showing at the upper right. The cropped version without the letters is OK, but we've seen too many images like it before for it to have much impact.

Dogdots

Cropping a photo is such a problem sometimes. I agree with both postings...crop and leave some of the lettering and also get back there if you can and re-take. You might find an angle that really gives you the look you want. I take a ladder with me sometimes. The hubby thinks I'm crazy doing that, but being short the added height really helps me out. And you might see what's inside too. I'm going on the assumption this is an empty building

Cool window and I like the lettering too. That would make for two good separate photos

I might crop out the leaf showing in the bottom blue part of the window. I think I know where it might be coming from, but then again it looks like its just stuck there

TonyCooper

Richard wrote:

I think PF is on the right track. Machine is fairly cryptic in this context, so you might as well be even more cryptic by including only part of the letters. I would try to include a little more than he did at the bottom and right, though you will have to do some cloning or something to prevent the white sky from showing at the upper right. The cropped version without the letters is OK, but we've seen too many images like it before for it to have much impact.

I agree completely that the image is average-at-best. I picked it as an exercise in cropping and not as an example of a real keeper of a shot.
I'm also playing around with a trial version of the Topaz "Detail" plug-in.

I also agree that cropping to include part of the letters is the best choice.

Now, do me a favor and skip down to that thread I started on "Metering". No replies, and I am really interested in comments on this subject.