Out of lockdown – Lens-Artist’s cropping challenge #96.

Patti Moed invited us to look at how we can improve photographs by cropping them in this week’s Lens Artists Challenge.

Often a photograph goes into the ho-hum pile because it’s not quite right but with a little time spent cropping to change the composition or cut out distractions, it can become a winner.

I decided to have a go at improving some of the less memorable shots I took on my first post-lockdown outing to the beach with Number 1 Daughter for an autumn picnic. What do you think?

It’s hard not to put your subject in the centre of your photograph but cropping to put Number 1 Daughter to one side balances this image so much better while at the same time removing the distractions from the far left.

I liked this young gull casting a shadow on the wet sand. But look at where he is, smack in the middle of the frame, again.

Cropping this picture brought him closer and improved the composition. It made it all look a little straighter too.

This is a pretty boring shot of Whale Island, Moutohora taken at West End, Ohope.

What I really wanted was to highlight the texture of the sand, so I cropped out some of the featureless sky. A little better.

Thank you Patti.

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