Cropped this heavily. Does it work?

[parksinep]

Mission San Zavier - Tucson, AZ. I took the wide shot and didn't see the cropping opportunity until I started working in Lightroom. Cheating? I like the elements of the tight shot but would welcome positive and constructive feedback of any kind. Trying to learn from experience. Thanks in advance.

[Mike Buckley]

Yes, the crop works very well for me. You'll be very limited by the size of the print you can make but it's fine for displaying it on the Internet.

[Rebel]

I really like that, I would crop a bit off the top though.

[Rebel]

I really like that, I would crop a bit off the top though.

Ignore me, I've changed my mind... its perfect.

[Davejl]

I like the original and your crop. I don't think you should worry about "cheating". If the crop works without loss of quality it is fine. After all, if you hadn't told us you'd cropped it heavily, we wouldn't have known. Along with elementary tweaking of exposure, contrast etc. cropping must be one of the most universally practised photographic procedures and I don't consider it to be in any way a cheat.

If you had had a different lens attached to the camera when you shot the original, maybe you'd have hit on this without cropping. As Mike says above, you could run into problems with heavy cropping if considering printing. This is a technical rather than an "ethical" question. Also, given that you are now aware of what you might achieve with a tighter crop, and assuming you have the right lens, you will probably be examining views in the future with an eye for the possibilities for this sort of closer-in view. If you haven't got the lens, simply carry on cropping.

[Shadowman]

Both work, nicely composed and exposed.

[bnnrcn]

Both look nice

[parksinep]

Yes, the crop works very well for me. You'll be very limited by the size of the print you can make but it's fine for displaying it on the Internet.

Thank you Mike.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

The crop works for me too, but, I'd crop it just a tad less on the right so the full shadow of the balcony is shown. As it is now it leads your eye right off the image.

[parksinep]

I like the original and your crop. I don't think you should worry about "cheating". If the crop works without loss of quality it is fine. After all, if you hadn't told us you'd cropped it heavily, we wouldn't have known. Along with elementary tweaking of exposure, contrast etc. cropping must be one of the most universally practised photographic procedures and I don't consider it to be in any way a cheat.

If you had had a different lens attached to the camera when you shot the original, maybe you'd have hit on this without cropping. As Mike says above, you could run into problems with heavy cropping if considering printing. This is a technical rather than an "ethical" question. Also, given that you are now aware of what you might achieve with a tighter crop, and assuming you have the right lens, you will probably be examining views in the future with an eye for the possibilities for this sort of closer-in view. If you haven't got the lens, simply carry on cropping.

Thank you Dave. Had a decent lens but no tripod. Might have seen it and zoomed to get the shot but I think a little Lightroom magic/luck worked reasonably well.

[parksinep]

Excellent thought. Thank you.

[parksinep]

Ignore me, I've changed my mind... its perfect.

Funny. Same thought process I went through. Thanks.

[Manfred M]

It's definitely not "cheating". It's called "learning". I suspect that you are going to try to do more of this in-camera on future outings. I generally shoot to crop a bit off the sides so that I have enough material to print full-size on standard paper formats.

[mugge]

Jeff you took a wide angled view and spotted something within the photo that was worth pursuing. You did right. To my mind it shows that you have an eye for detail.
Cheers Ole

[parksinep]

Thanks Ole. I appreciate it.

[Wavelength]

Precious

[Kyle]

It's a beautiful building. I like the crop of the first image. The clean lines with the 'plain-ness' of the building and the splash of a colour from the decorations really works for me.
I do find the tree a bit distracting. But I may be alone in that regard. It still works with it.

[ShaneS]

I like both but agree with Alan (Always on Auto) about leaving the full shadow in the cropped version.

It sure does look like a beautiful place to explore with or without the camera!

[parksinep]

I like both but agree with Alan (Always on Auto) about leaving the full shadow in the cropped version.

It sure does look like a beautiful place to explore with or without the camera!

Thanks Shane. It's a fantastic 230 year old church undergoing renovation. Worth a visit.