Which crop works best?

[tommykjensen]

Only post process done is crop and resize.

I think the big weel on the lawnmover in the background is distracting so I have tried 2 different crops.

This is the original
http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photo.php?n=dog_original.jpg

This is version 1
http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photo.php?n=dog_cropped_v1.jpg

This is version 2
http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photo.php?n=dog_cropped_v2.jpg

Which works the best?

[Radtech1]

Personally, I like the 3rd crop. I know that the subject would not intuitivly make you think of a vertical crop, but sometime you just have to say "what the heck"

As far as the background goes, you could blur it more, or since you cant really tell that it is a lawn mower in the 3rd crop, you could play around with cloning in other parts and reduce it to an indistinct abstract background and be done with it.

Rad

[Mark Kemp]

I agree with you and Rad - the background is distracting - you don't need it so don't show it.

Therefore the tightest crop is best and you could blur the background some more too.

Lesson for today is - look at what is behind the subject before shooting - we all have great shots with dodgy backgrounds. but it pays to try to remember.

I also womder why you cropped the dogs left ear, I would have shot a bit more dog and a bit less background to start with.

[Radtech1]

I also womder why you cropped the dogs left ear, I would have shot a bit more dog and a bit less background to start with.

Unless it was supposed to be a picture of the lawn mower and the dog walked into the frame at the last moment! I mean, how many of us have shots of people walking into the frame just as we are pressing the shutter release.

R

[tommykjensen]

I also womder why you cropped the dogs left ear, I would have shot a bit more dog and a bit less background to start with.

Agree but I was shooting the dog with the camera resting on the ground and thus could not see when he was within the frame until after I took the shot.


Unless it was supposed to be a picture of the lawn mower and the dog walked into the frame at the last moment! I mean, how many of us have shots of people walking into the frame just as we are pressing the shutter release.

:lol:

[Mark Kemp]

You could describe it as an out of focus picture of a brick wall with a lawn mower and a dog in the way.

[mikemcnally]

I think a crop that takes out the brick only might work with luminoucity (sp?) changes to the mower. The dog and the lawn mower have a relationship in that they are both have seen the world a bit. The green grass is both the domain of the dog and the lawn mower and it sort of tells a story.
The really white wheel is what i don't like, it dominates. Drop the brightness of the lawnmower (especially the wheel), keep it at the same focus level and let the brighter dog and the grass be the winner. Huh?

[tommykjensen]

The really white wheel is what i don't like, it dominates. Drop the brightness of the lawnmower (especially the wheel), keep it at the same focus level and let the brighter dog and the grass be the winner. Huh?

How do I do that? I am just beginning to learn PS. I have the image in raw.

[PhotosGuy]

#3 & take off more from the top & bottom.
Rather that trying to save it in P$hop, go out & take another pic without all the bs in the background. (My NSHO!)

[mikemcnally]

Hi,
There are so many ways to do this... none of them are hard.
The basic process I use in PS is
Duplicate layer (creat new layer same as orig)
>> http://www.digital-creativity.org.uk/tutorials/tutorial_01.html
create layer mask on new layer (leave it white for now)
>> http://www.thinkdan.com/tutorials/photoshop/layermasks/
modify new layer with effect (blur or darken or what ever)
draw black on layer to expose what you want from the original.

Here are a few quick down and dirty examples on this process I used on your pic: http://www.pbase.com/jmichaelphoto/dog

I just kept adding layers to try different things, and turning off the ones under them. In the end I end up with a stack of layers. (I saved it to my hard drive and would be happy to email it to you for an example). There are so many great web sites out there that show you how to use layers and masks to apply effects to certain places of an image. I learn stuff from going to sites like http://www.eyewire.com/tips/photoshop/index.htm
and I belong to http://www.photoshopuser.com/ . The website has tons and tons of explanations and tutorials and you get the magazine every month full of good help. I read it cover to cover. Also, you can email them and ask them very detailed questions about how to do what. Its a very good resource, but it is 99 dollars per year.

Anyway, when I was done, I didn't like my suggestion to you at all :oops: . So my opinion has changes after playing with the photo...the best version I think is your original, the thin one or perhaps just a head shot? There is just so much high frequency in the scene... the grass, the wirey dog hair, the mower, the brick wall... with bright background (the wheel especially) and dark subject...

What a great character this dog is to photograph! Perhaps time would be better spent shooting him some more under not so harsh a light and with a calmer background than fiddling with photoshop (like I just did!), Here is the mutt that likes to pop all the balls around my yard http://www.pbase.com/image/27982920/medium

Mike

[tommykjensen]

Mike, thank You for the advice and links. I would like the file so I will pm You my email address then I will see if I can learn something from it :D

Yes I love taking photos of "Jeppe", its my parents dog and I don't see it very often. And he is getting very old (12 -13 years) so theres not many years left to shoot him, he has back problems but are still so active that it can be hard to position the camera quickly enough to get a photo of him thats why the sample photo was not composed well enough.