Help with Cropping

[Apprentix]

First of all Merry Christmas to all members of this site,
Wishing the Joy of Christ shines upon you always!
Please advise how would you crop the following image.
I am not sure how extensive to cut on the background.
Thanks

[Mike Buckley]

I like the overall approach to your crop but would like to suggest that you refine it. For me, once you make the decision to crop part of the hair, you need to crop a substantial part of it, not just a small part of it as you have done here. When you crop just a small part of the hair, it almost looks like a mistake. So, try cropping about halfway between the forehead hairline and your current crop to determine if you like it better. Doing so raises the boy's eyes a little above the middle of the image, which makes it less static than the current crop that positions his eyes horizontally in the center.

On a separate topic, it might help if you critically examine the areas of the image that are sharp and the areas that are not sharp. Notice that the neck line of the boy's shirt and the back of his neck are very sharp. Notice also that his eyes and other facial features aren't nearly so sharp. It's important with an image such as this that you get at least the near eye very sharp.

Another thought: If your lens doesn't have image stabilization, you did very well to get an image this sharp at this focal length and shutter speed.

The unsharp areas of his face may be due to the limited depth of field. You used a 200mm lens at f/5.6, which will have a small depth of field if you were close to the boy. You also used a shutter speed of 1/200, which might not have stopped the action if the boy quickly moved his head. Either situation would have caused the lack of sharpness in his near eye.

[JPS]

Hi Armando,
I don't think I've welcomed you to CiC, so welcome, it's great to have you with us.

I think Mike is spot on with his reply and therefore will add no more, other than to say I look forward to seeing more of your pictures over the coming weeks.

[Apprentix]

Dear Mike,
Thank you for taking the time to go over my post.
I really appreciate your feedback,it makes a lot of sense.And I am taking note to apply your advise in subsequent shots.
Merry Christmas
Armando

[Apprentix]

Thank you John for your comments,
CiC is a great place to learn from experts as I am sure you are.
I will certainly post more frecuently to continue learning from the CiC experts
Merry Christmas
Armando