Landscape or Portrait

[Greg McCary]

I ain't all together happy with the time of day but lately we have clouds all day but just before the golden hour they seem to fade away. But I keep at it. Which do you prefer portrait or landscape? I also wish I could teach those farmers to lay out these things with a little more symmetry.LOL

[armando_m]

Portrait has a more interesting sky

[amorton1437]

Portrait. Better sky, and I feel like there is something for me to "look" at. There is more detail in the hay bale in the foreground in the portrait.

[Frog]

Hard choice for me but I'm going with landscape. Shows the expanse of the fields better and the sky isn't so prominent when there's not much interest in it.

[Iguanamom]

I prefer the landscape version as well. I find the vertical/portrait version to be choppy - there are too many horizontal lines that disrupt the flow; you're not leading me through the photo. In the landscape version the horizontal lines work because they do lead me through the photo and are more harmonious in the overall image. Yeah, the sky is uninteresting, but in the landscape version I know you're not trying to shoehorn it into the photo which is how it feels in the vertical; it competes with the real subject and so makes for a confusing image. With the sky largely ignored in the second version, it reinforces what you really wanted us to see.

I did a scroll crop just below the tiny hay rolls in the vertical shot, leaving the big one out and that image works. The tiny hay rolls, trees and sky. NOW I know you would want me to look at the sky in that one.

[Iguanamom]

Like this

[mikonyxx]

i like the look of the landscape one, as there is more to look at...if you could color this one like the first one (as far as the blue in the sky and the green in the trees); great shot!

[Grandpaw]

Greg, I like the composition of the landscape version better. I put it in Photoshop and lightened up the shadows that brought out the details in the trees and I also took just a little bit of green out of the photo and think it is something you might try and see what you think. Nice shot, Jeff

[Old Timer]

No contest in my opinion it's a portrait shot all the way. Much more interesting.

[Greg McCary]

Thanks all for the awesome help. Jeff feel free to post an edit if you want to. I will see if I can bring some more detail out of the sky in the landscape shot. OT I have never shot a portrait landscape that I have liked but I agree that this on is ok, one of my better attempts.
Great advise Iguanamom. I see where you are going with the shot I feel it needs a bit more foreground though.

[daq7]

First portrait definitely. It is both the largeness of the bail and the nice blue and texture of the sky.

[Greg McCary]

Thanks Dag7. Here is another edit using the Lightroom grads. Exposure and saturation.

[Grandpaw]

Greg, you told me to feel free to post if I wanted too, so here it is, Jeff

[Greg McCary]

I really like the detail you brought out in the hills what did you do?

[Grandpaw]

In Photoshop I went to IMAGE, ADJUSTMENTS, SHADOWS/HIGHLIGHTS, and adjusted the shadows. I also went to IMAGE, ADJUSTMENTS, COLOR BALANCE and took out just a little green. The uncut grass looked to me like it had a small amount of green tint to it, Jeff

[Greg McCary]

Thanks Jeff I will try the same on the full sized file.

[gahspidy]

Tough call. I prefer everything about the portrait version from the color, the clarity of the first bale, the clouds in the sky, but the landscape version feels like the right crop. I think ulitmately i go with portrait. More to it that i enjoy. . more positives for me.
At least your farmers are not covering their bales with plastic like most are doing here in NY. All the bales out here are usually covered in a white platic which i suppose helps keep them around longer and protets from water and mold/fungus. Not as pretty to see scattered on a field.

[blondievp]

I like the sky in the portrait picture I think that all though there is not much detail it brings a lot to the picture, I also like the Landscape picture with the stretch of hay bails.

I think the portrat picture is better as many people would shot the picture in the landscape format, which I think makes the picture stand out and be noticed a little more.

Well Done on both pictures

[hminx]

I'd like to see the landscape version as a b&w, then you could get more texture into the sky by decreasing the blue.

[Greg McCary]

Gary the plastic wraps are popular here too. I just got lucky. To me the wraps would really hurt the shot. Thanks blondievp, pete. I wiish I could have gotten into the field and I would have used my 15mm voightlander.