Crop Critique.

[Jaedon]

This was shot in North Carolina a 2 weeks ago on the way home.

I can't decide which crop or PP job I like better. So I did 2 different crop choices and each of the version also has slightly different PP work done to them.

Which of the 2 images do you prefer and why?

Image crop #1: More work with the Shadows / Highlights tool and a slight saturation adjustment


Image crop #2:more centered crop - more work with the Levels layer and curves and slightly less saturation than #1


Thanks for looking

[swmdrayfan]

Jae----#1 by far. The boy's face has better lighting and less shadows. Plus the diagonal cross tie doesn't take up as much of the frame on the right. In addition, I think the additional spacing at the top eliminates the feel of the child being 'sqeezed' from above. Nice work.
John:thumbsup:

[starriderrick]

#1 is my choice.
It really shows his eyes, the tones are much warmer.Happy kid.Lovely capture.
Kids are always a fantastic subject.
Nice work.
With regards,
Rick

[Greg McCary]

#1 is more pleasing to me and is a better use of the rule of thirds. I try and never just to center my subject.
Greg

[Didache]

For myself, I prefer the crop of #1 (for the reasons already given) but find it just a tad over saturated.

Hope that helps
Mike

[Jaedon]

Thanks folks. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Now off to desaturate it a bit and crop #1 it is =)

[julievive]

For me its crop #1, its more catching to my eyes. good selection of subject, i like the expression of the boy's face

[julsoph]

Another vote for #1 from me. I like the fence and its shadows. I do agree with Didache about the saturation though...I like the post processing in the second one better.

Emily

[MonkeyWrench]

I studied the pictures before I looked at the other post and came up with the same conclusions. I like the first one but wished it had the skin tones of the second. Nice Picture.

[gahspidy]

I like the crop of the first one best, and feel it would improve by reducing the attention to the bg and making the boys face pop out a little stronger. I would dodge the face a bit to get it to stand out, and might consider bluring the bg . I like the strong contrast of the second shot, but keep the details in the fence like the first.

[freygr]

I like the second one better than the first until I looked at the crop. I came to the conclusion that the first crop is a little better that the second but the second has better color and contrast, and I would suggest a third crop between the two a little more or less of the fence.