I wanted to find a photograph that was busy in composition, that contained interesting subject matter, and that would benefit from reducing some of the noise in the photo to create a more cohesive appearance. The photo that I chose is that of a group of friends standing around a dinning room table with an assortment of food and drinks scattered about. There are six people in the photograph, three of which appear to be engaged in conversation. The person on the left side, in the forefront, is looking back and to the left. There are two people on the right hand side right on the edge of the photograph. I get a sense that the room that they’re in is filled with various conversations, music, the clinking of utensils, wine glasses, among other things. I feel that it’s most likely a hectic space, while also being, carefree and inviting.
I initially set out to eliminate some of the unnecessary space around the figures in the center of the photograph. The two people on the right hand side were too close to the edge, which created tension in the picture. I felt that the light, the large, bright one on the top, was distracting to the rest of the image. The plates of food and wine bottles at the bottom of the image were also distracting, and the way that the wine bottles were arranged, they created a line the moved up through the middle of the photograph. I wanted to crop the photo in order to focus the attention of the space onto the conversation of the three people in the center of the photograph. I wanted to leave enough information of the person on the left hand side so that they are still visible, and that their position in the room is easily understood. The lady on the left hand side is now the focal point of the photograph. Due to the crop, the gaze of the other two ladies (middle and right) follows straight into the face of the lady on the left. There is enough detail kept in the photo that it retains the feel of a dinner party, while creating a much more intimate composition.
Hello! I really like how you shared your thought process on how you chose your photo and why you chose to crop it in the way that you did. I understand what you mean in regard to the two photos because of how well you explained it. I agree that the original photo has a lot more of a hectic feeling than your derivative. Also, I like how your cropped photo has a more inviting feeling than the original. The original feels like the viewer is a bystander while your photo feels more like the viewer is part of the party while still retaining that feeling of a hectic dinner party. Great job!
Hello Ross, I love the framing of this photo. The way it was cropped focuses on movement and activity, especially with the man in the foreground moving his vision behind him. The finished image makes it read clockwise, and I find that interesting. I agree with Megan that the original feels very messy and that this edit evokes more of a sense that you are part of the conversation. The movement of the man in the foreground also informs us about volume. You can hear this photo. There seems to be a lot of happenings without the missing two people so I think you did an amazing job. Overall, I love this!