I chose this image (left) from Flickr because I was initially intrigued by the view of the mountains and the nice view of the calm sky as the sun seemed to be setting. While nothing was wrong with the original image, I began to look more at the image because I wanted to see how cropping and reframing the image to focus on the small white dog would change how it made me view the photo. The original image by Alex Beattie illustrates a small white dog running across an open field with a view of the sun setting with distant mountains. The image overall focuses on the view and the calmness of the setting, with the small white dog being an afterthought.
After cropping and reframing the image (right), the focus is automatically put on the dog as the depth of the image changes. By removing the sky and the view of the mountaints, the image is now more focused on the dog’s range of motion, energy, and expression. The dog is now centered, giving the image a feel of the dog running right towards the viewer, as we get to see the joy on the dog’s face. The image now looks as if the dog is in a random yard, playing freely.
The change shows how cropping and reframing can really alter the way an image is perceived. The change of contextual elements changes the original narrative that the original artist wanted us to see. The cropped image encourages the viewer to connect more with the dog, rather than enjoying the calming view of the scenery surrounding it.
Original: “I was taking a photo of the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains ⛰ and wouldn’t you know it… Althea photobombs my landscape photo… oh well 😔 😍🐾💕🐾” by Alex Beattie is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Derivative: “Zoomies in the Wild: Caught on Camera” by Destiny Rogers, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped from the original.
Hi, Destiny! I love this photo you chose and I think focusing on the dog’s expression through cropping really enhances the image. By cropping out the sky, I feel like I am crouching down while the dog is running towards me when I look at this image. My only suggestion would be to crop using the rule of thirds, placing the dog in the lower or upper right quadrant. Right now my eye is naturally drawn to the grass below the dog, so cropping using the rule of thirds would make this image even more effective. Great job!
Hi! This photo definitely screams “Zoomies!” The original photo does seem like the dog isn’t quite the focus of the image. It’s almost hard to tell what the pup is doing until you really stop and look. By cropping out the background, he is now the focus. I do think that he might be a little too close to the top of the frame, though. Just a quarter inch could make all the difference in making his motion have more of an effect.
Hi Destiny, I love funny photos of dogs, and this was much needed today. I like that you were able to find a photo where a dog photo-bombed and made him the focus of the photo! I do think that maybe zooming in less on the doggy, even if you kept some of the background, would have turned him into the focus while also following the rule of thirds. However, you might have wanted to keep the grass to make it look like the dog is running towards the camera, similar to the boat photo Professor Barrager showed us, which is also an interesting perspective.