Digital photography has made it easier to play around with photographs, and both amateur and professional photographers do not shy away from cropping. (unlike the use of photoshop, which generates a lot of heat, dust & debate - and will be the subject of a future post - cropping is generally less controversial).
But should you (crop) just because you can...?
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The image (left) would evoke, for most folks, a sense of the sea/ocean....of a man battling with the giant waves, waiting for the precise moment to ride the big one coming at him....right?
The original picture (right), taken on the banks of river Eisbach in Munich, Germany, has a very different feel. With both the river banks in the frame, the man vs nature scale is substantially diminished.
So which works better? ..........It is simply a function of what one wants to communicate (though as a photographic composition, my preference is for the first one).
A side by side display below, for an easier comparison...
If (to use a cliched business phrase) "overcoming challenges" is what is to be conveyed, the picture on the left captures the essence of that thought. But if the purpose is to create interest in one of the "sights" in Munich, the one on the right does a better job of evoking a "sense of place". (Munich is well known for its "river surfing" & "standing wave", within the surfer community in particular).
Happy cropping!
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