For this blog post, I mainly went through photo albums of trips I’ve taken with my mom. We’ve taken each other to so many scenic places where in each I take an obscene amount of bad photos. I have always liked the original (bottom) photo, my mom’s stance is very triumphant, and her overlaying the trunk of the tree strangely evokes her strength and grit. As you can imagine, beyond the edges of this photo are the spectacular views off the rim of the canyon. This is the view she is taking in, though I felt like because she is centered in my photo of her, it seems that she is looking at me (the camera person). Based on the rule of thirds, I cropped her onto the intersection of the right-hand third of the photo, to make it appear more like she is looking into the negative space, toward the canyon. I also got rid of the foreground of the photo to try and create some forced perspective, as if the camera is looking up at her from a much steeper angle, as if she has just climbed a mountain.
Hello Liv, nice to e-meet you! The way you cropped your mom’s photo to exclude the foreground and zoom in to see her more looks great! Cropping the photo like this definitely makes it clear that she is the focus and allows the viewer to really see her smile and her stance, as you mentioned! I’m not sure of other ways that you could have cropped it, but one suggestion is putting the photos side by side so that viewers can see the difference right away without having to scroll (and this may just be on my computer). Otherwise, great job! I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon but it looks really nice, especially with the sky as blue as the day you both went!
Hey Liv,
I enjoyed reading your post, and you cropped your photo well. Your original had a lot of space in front of your mom, and she was in the center of the photo. The way you cropped her with the rule of thirds and got rid of that negative space in front of her was excellent. I think your new photo emphasizes your mom and the beautiful nature you were both in! While the meaning of the photo does not change from your crop, it does push the viewer’s attention to your mom better than the original. I have been to the Grand Canyon once before, and it is truly breathtaking! My only suggestion would be to put the two photos side by side so the viewer can easily compare them. Great job!
Hi Liv!
Thank you for sharing this memory with your audience. I believe the way you cropped and aligned your mom in the photo provides viewers with a “forced perspective” of the environment you both visited. The edited version of your original photo offers a more centered view of your mom at the Grand Canyon. One suggestion I have is to adjust the lighting in the photo better to highlight the textures and colors of the Grand Canyon. I’ve also visited the Grand Canyon, and the view was breathtaking and looked unreal. It felt like I was looking at a huge computer screen. Nature has always been a fascinating sight to me.