Revised & Cropped..Now what do you think?

[Devin MacShawn]

I like realworlds crop better. I think it purposely breaks the rules and gets away with it like OJ. My only nit pick, and I hate even mentioning it because I love this photo so much, is that I wish you could have used a refelctor to bounce some natural light into her face. A gold one may have been ideal.

[Sebastian]

I like realworlds crop better.

I mentioned what I saw as flaws in the crop and I posted an illustration of what I deem to be a solution to those flaws. I don't care about rules, or breaking them, but I don't agree that the first crop works with what I perceive as the intent of the photo. It takes too much away from the subject and makes her seem separate from her surroundings. If that sense of isolation is what the photographer intended, then it works. But if that's not the intent (I don't believe it is) then hopefully other crop ideas will help them find what works best.

It's not about breaking rules and making them work, it's about wether or not, as a photographer, you are communicating through the image that which you set out to capture, be it a feeling, or a story. And through critique we find out if we were successful by gauging input from other viewers. If you really want to do the poster a service, tell him why you think the first one works better, what rules they broke, and why that makes a more effective photo, rather than just disagreeing with what someone else said. They and I will learn much more from it and will appreciate you taking the time.