Pictures inside of pictures

Sometimes you see a shot in the field, and shoot to crop. I’ve been doing a lot of 1×2 and 1×3 aspect ratio shots lately, and once you start doing something, you see shots like that everywhere. But sometimes, you don’t see it until later, as was the case in this shot. Just because you didn’t see it in the field, don’t forget to look in your images to see if there is a shot you like better!

Below is my original composition. I liked the shot, but I just couldn’t get it where the tree didn’t seem to be growing out the fence no matter how I tried. The shot was taken on the side of a busy road, so I have very little ability to move around to change the composition. Before moving on, though, I noticed that I really liked the fence in the shot, and a quick play around with the crop tool revealed what I felt to be a much stronger shot!

TIP: If you are shooting to crop a shot like this, put the part you intend to leave in the center of the frame. The center of your lens is the sharpest part of it. No use in using the sharp part of the lens for the piece you plan on throwing out!