Last week I presented four variations of the same shot of a Prothonotary Warbler, each one reframed and/or edited a bit differently. I received many responses (thanks!). Here’s how you felt about each one:
This is the way I originally framed the image and it received 39% of the votes (the highest). Most remarked that they liked the balance between the bird on the left and the red buds on the right . My oldest friend (since High School in 1968) Sue, who is a Master Gardener, appreciated seeing the buds blooming from the stalk of the tree.
Shot A
For Shot B I zoomed in on the bird and centered it, with no red buds. This one garnered 25% of the votes (3rd place). Those that commented on the shot said they like the larger view of the bird.
Shot B
For Shot C I took the original framing (Shot A) and just centered the bird, leaving some of the red buds off to the right. This came in second with 28.5% of the votes, telling me that inclusion of the red buds was important but the balance between the bird and the buds in Shot A was more eye-catching.
Shot C
To create Shot D I took Shot C above and erased the red buds. This by far had the least number of votes (7%) which indicates how important those little red buds were to the overall composition of the photograph.
Shot D
There were two takeaways for me. First, that little dab of color provided by including the red buds made a huge difference in how well received the shot was. Secondly, Shot A was how I originally framed the image and as JamesD said, “Go with your gut” when deciding which view to present.
Thanks again for all the responses.
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