Cropping and extending.

For this i cropped 3 of my own images to see what effect this had on the composition.

This is the uncropped image. The subject seems 'drowned' in the centre.

In this cropped version the dogs draw the eye faster and keep the gaze longer.

In this church scene there is a lot to catch the eye and the composition is quite boring.

In this crop the candles angle draws the eye towards the font where it is held. This is a much improved image with the crop.

This graveyard scene has a lot of interest but too much free space at the top and bottom.

This crop solves that problem, still showing all the necessary features.

These are all examples of how a good crop can greatly improve an image. In all cases, the second image is more successful at drawing and keeping interest within the frame.

Vertical and Horizontal Frames

For this exercise i needed to take roughly 20 photos in both horizontal and vertical formats. I took the photos first in the vertical format and as you can see below, tended to pick subjects that would suit this framing. Subjects were tall and thin generally.
In the end i managed to get 2 versions of 13 of the photos i took and they can be seen below.

For this photo i find that the horizontal image works best due to not being too central and having a nicer DOF.


In this image i find the horizontal the better photo. The extra space for the feather on the left stops it feeling to squeezed in.

I prefer the horizontal version here too, for the same reason as the last image. The space balances the composition.


Here the vertical is better because the tower dominates the frame more and adds to the 'looming' feel.

I prefer the vertical again here, it cuts out anything in the shot that isn't needed.


The free space in the horizontal image here seems to balance the composition nicely.


Because of the height of the subject, vertical works better here.

I prefer vertical here, purely because it cuts out the boring edges and includes the tree branch in the top right.

I prefer the horizontal version. It makes the tower less prominant and creates more of an urban 'Landscape'.


I think this is another example of a tall subject suiting a vertical frame.

I didn't like these shots, but if i had to chose, i prefer the second. It feels more natural.

Again, horizontal feels less hemmed in.

In this final set i prefer vertical, the door fits nicely in the frame and verticals aren't converging.

I think more than anything, this excercise showed me that simply rotating the camera can give an image a completely different effect, convey a different idea about the subject and overall, change the meaning of an image.