It was two weeks ago when I posted a “Which One Wednesday” challenge to pic the best image from three versions of an Upland Sandpiper pic I took in South Dakota. A review of the three pics are below, and a summary of members’ thoughts about them follows:
In Crop A the eye has been centered along the top grid line of the center grid. I didn’t leave much of the post in the crop so the viewer isn’t distracted.
A.
In Crop B the eye is still centered on the top horizontal grid line and the bottom grid line is just beneath the body – almost all of the bird is enclosed in the center grid, making it very visible. This larger crop also exposes more of the post and barbed wire to add interest to the shot.
B.
In Shot C I basically zoomed in closer to the bird, leaving in the post and barbed wire. But by doing so the eye/head are now above the central grid’s top line. Where are your eyes drawn to when you first look at this shot? It this crop OK to NOT have any distinguishing feature of the bird on any of the lines defining the center grid?
C.
Usually the opinions in these exercises varies widely – but not in this case. Version C was almost unanimously selected as the favorite, even though the eye of the bird was not on one of the horizontal “Rule of Thirds” grid lines. As a matter of fact, nothing of interest is really sitting on any of the grid lines! So why was this the favorite? Many commented that this shot left less space between the top of the bird’s head and the frame above. Many also commented that seeing the top of the post and barbed wire contributed to the overall composition.
So in this case the “Rule of Thirds” wasn’t the best method to compose the image. It was more important to center the bird and to reveal important contextual elements such as the post and barbed wire. Even though the head isn’t on a horizontal grid line it stands out nicely from the sky.
Thanks to all who took the time to comment on the post. Another one coming soon!
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