My uncle Fran Leigh was a commercial photographer in Trenton, New Jersey. His clients were AT&T, Lenox China, and Lawrenceville School, among others. I wish I'd paid more attention to his work as I was growing up, but I just wasn't interested in photography then. When I "discovered" photography in the late 1970s, I remember him saying, "there isn't a photograph that can't be improved by cropping." This was a rather broad statement, and one could argue the point, but it hit home.
I interpret his cropping comment by thinking about what's in the frame. What am I including in the shot, and why? And then, what doesn't need to be there?
Here's an example. I show you my original image of the fluorescent orange fender (bumper) hanging off the side of a complementary blue fishing boat, the fender reflected in the water. I composed the image as a vertical so that I could include the reflection and so the fender would have "drooping room." I purposely didn't include the area above the fender because it was busy and didn't have anything to do with my subject.
However, I think the bottom third of the photo is rather empty (no color, no fender reflection, just ripples) and so maybe if I squarified the image it would be tighter and bolder. I would be filling my frame with just the "good stuff," the side of the boat, the fender, and the immediate reflection. You can see how I've marked up the picture to show you what I think is the "good stuff." And then you see the resulting image.
But what about the dark bit of rust at the far right? What does that have to do with my concept of blue boat, orange fender, and reflection? Nothing! So I cropped even more (still keeping the image a square), and now the photo is more concise and more about what I initially liked about the scene.
What about your own photos? When you take another look at them, ask yourself, "where's the good stuff?" and then see what you can crop out, what you can remove, to focus our attention on exactly what caught your eye to begin with. By analyzing the photos you've already taken, you'll find yourself being more careful about cropping in the viewfinder before you click the shutter, automatically making you a better photographer.
©Carol Leigh, who misses the clever wit and charm, generosity, and photographic skill of her Uncle Fran.
2 comments:
As someone who misses the clever wit, charm, generosity and photographic skill of his friend Carol Leigh 'cuz his life has gotten crazy, I appreciate this simple and subtle examination of a photograph. You've pointed out all we need to know without any side trips. That makes it easy to follow in the world that's increasingly framed by sound bytes and video clips seemingly designed to reduce our attentions span ... Oh Look! A Puppy!
I feel a subtle inner pressure to always frame things at 2x3 rather than to explore the crop that make the best picture. Not sure where that comes from, but it runs deep.
Thanks for a bit of creative dissonance (for me anyways).
-Jim
Ah, so good to hear from you. Wait, oh, look! A puppy! Sorry. Got sidetracked. Oh! Now there's a kitten! Sorry.
The 2x3 concept is tough to get around, isn't it, unless you've been a Hasselblad shooter lo, these many years. Our newspapers and books are all pretty much 2x3 format, which may have something to do with our predilection, but with their demise maybe the square will now come into its own.
Always a pleasure to hear from you, and please give my regards to The Lovely Brigitte.
Now I must get in the car to text, call, and take "drive by" photos out the window . . .
Carol "no, I'm MULTItasking" Leigh
Post a Comment