The Power Of Cropping Images

I know I've talked about this before, but it continues to shock me just how much of a difference a good crop can make for an image.

I went it Lucha Libre Volcanica's 8th Anniversary event recently, where I took this photo:

I took a ton of photos, actually and MANY of them look like that - I sat behind tall people, and there were short people behind me (so I couldn't really stand up without blocking their view).

So I had to hope that the image(s) can be fixed with a bit of cropping.

Like this:

Now don't get me wrong: It's still not a great image, but it's significantly better.

For the record: It was a fantastic show, and I'm going to go to more of their shows, time permitting.

An Old Favorite

I honestly don't know if I've shared this one here before or not.

This is my brother Eric getting ready for his (first) wedding.



It's not a fantastic photo, but it's a good photo.

Instagram

This weekend, I had more than one person ask me why I wasn't a professional photographer.

I'm not a bad photographer - I've gotten past that mindset, finally. But I still have a hard time seeing myself as a good photographer. I'm nitpicking my photos. Over and over and over.

Let me show you what I mean.

A few weeks ago, A friend asked if I'd be willing to take some photos for his sister.  This is one of the photos I got:



It's a great shot. It's well-composed, and the expression on their faces is so expressive. But I didn't use my fill flash, so there are shadows over the eyes of the woman on the right.

It's a small detail, but it's an important one. It's not a mistake I'm going to make again, but it's still a mistake. And small details like that are what's holding me back.