Would You Crop This?

Thank you Wendy. Yes, it's very interesting to see the different opinions here, and I am very grateful for every comment. It helps me to learn more about photography.

Thank you Richard and Billy, I am thinking to leave it as it is..or maybe not ;)

One thing I forgot to mention. When I've read Gunter first comment about: "Although nothing is in focus...", I have to admit, I took the picture outside in the high wind with my trusty Canon P&S camera.
I wouldn't say it was a "lucky shot", because I was out there for over an hour, and tried to get the best angle of the seeds, how they was flying in the wind, while holding a black cardboard in my other hand (would be nice to be an octopus sometimes..I understand now, why real photographers have assistants), and to make sure, the wind do not take it out of my hand. But I enjoyed every second of it, as taking pictures makes me happy and help me think.

FYI: I have a feeling, my next door neighbour think, I am crazy sitting in the grass and taking pictures of weeds :)

Tough choice, they all look good. You decide...hehe I prefer the original I think.

Always follow Roy's advice if you question it. I use a couple of sheets of paper or a couple of envelopes, and look at it with those for temporary crops, or go ahead and crop it and don't save the results. (I use Irfan View, if I simply use Undo or move on to the next or previous shot then back it does not save any changes automatically and no "nag screen" asking if I want to save it. I turned that off...) That's just one of the things I really like about that editor, I can change anything I want to and it never automatically saves anything. I can try a dozen different crops if I want to, and I often try 3 or 4. Simply either use the "Undo" feature or go to another picture and it's back to the original.

I also always keep the original unchanged, anything I save is saved with a different filename and in a different folder so I can go back and do the original different if I want to at any time.

Using a piece of paper works nicely too. But it's a bit more difficult to get the crop exactly where you had the paper. Good for a general idea of what you will get though.

Murray posted some great examples that look great, personally I like the yellowish stem in the shot so I would say leave it.

It's lovely as is, Marianna. I'd leave it intact.

Interesting to see the different opinions here.

Thanks Roger! I think the same, after seeing Murray's variations.
It was such a nice thing from Murray to show it to us, how it can be like, after altering my image.

And, I will definitely will make another very similar composition without the steam. But, as I said earlier, I might do that with emerald green background, but I love this dark rich red color too.

Upon seeing, Murray's variations, I've changed my mind.

I now agree with those, that say that the original is the best.

But I do think that the one cropped on the left, without the stem might be the most salable.

Thank you so much for everyone's suggestions.
I sort of agree with you Angel, Chaline,Abbie, Vivien, Photographic Arts And Design Studio, Gunter, Theresa and Craig.
I think the image need that gold element, and how Chrystyne explained it, was great. Thank you Chrystyne.

I would like to see your cropping version Roy, because I've tried to look at it that way, but not sure how you meant to crop it, to be a tall image.

Gunter, your first comment is made me smile ("Although nothing is in focus..."), and I agree with your second comment too. I love the negative space on the right,and the bright rich red.

Yes Kylani, Roger, Murray and Brian, I was thinking to crop a little on the right side, but I like the way how the red texture fading in the black.on the right left corner.

Janine, you are right to, it will be a wispy floaty image without the steam. But it will become a totally different image, which I might do one similar later on, with a better focused dandelion seeds. I was thinking to do that with emerald green/black background.

Thank you Tony for asking, but the image is not been cropped at all. But I have other pictures in my gallery with the whole dandelion on it, in a different angle.

Thank you so much Murray for showing the other edited options. it's helps me to visulize it better.

Colin, thank you. I was thinking the same, but I don't like to offer different versions from one shot. Because I have many other very similar composition from them seeds. I will make another one without the steam.

I would only crop the right side. It wouldn't even occur to me to crop the left.

I would offer two versions.

Hmmm, tough choice. Lovely colors Marianna. There are two ways of going about it and both have the some pros and cons.

Cropping out the gold stem just leaves the lovely bokeh light and the bold red for those dandelion seeds to float and pop off of visually. The con (IMHO) is that the seeds then appear too centered my eye keeps looking for a third seed to be floating in the top left corner. I like that the bottom seed is close to the bottom right corner but I keep seeking that missing top one so that there is/are a diagonal line of composition to hold the attention.

Keeping the gold stem in the composition adds another element of color of which the gold looks beautiful against the red. The stem also serves as that element on the left side to balance the compositional line of beginning (reading the composition from left to right), middle, and end. I also think it shows/tells/completes the picture of these seeds journey - they fell from somewhere and the stem provides us with the somewhere. I do think that the vertical line sometimes conflicts with the diagonal balance of the scene because of the too much space on the left that it seems like it was haphazard in the scene. Perhaps cropping that extra space on the left side so that the gold stem is the left side of the composition would help.

Just so we know what we're choosing. here are the options, with Marianna's permission:

Great as it is....

I would have to see the rest of the image. It already looks like it might be cropped a bit and that has an effect on the remainder.

I would leave it as it is. I like the gold and the negative space on the right.

The negative space on the right is bright red and awesome. An asset to the piece and adds lots of punch, as I think
The whole image is best as it is now

I'd like to see it w/o Marianna. I think it might get more of a wispy floaty feeling to it

Leave the stalk and crop a bit from the right. Another compelling image, Marianna.

I agree with Roy and Kylani......That's what I thought as soon as I saw the image.....I would crop the right side.

I would keep it but crop just a tiny bit off that right side where that blank space is.

I agree with everyone else! Keep it as is!

It's a lovely,weighty contrast to the light/soft things....your first intuition is right....great composition!

Keep it as is

Although nothing is in focus the gold gives it depth and therefore the image works. If you crop that out, there's nothing left

"I" wouldn't crop the gold - I'd crop the right side - which would make it square or a tall image. Ah, if it wasn't taboo to copy and work on other images - I could show you. Hold an opaque piece of paper up over the right and the left and see what you think. I'd crop into about half of that bottom 'umbrella'. JMHO rd

I like it. The gold compliments and contrasts nicely with the red.

I think the piece would work with or without it.

I would keep it.