This immature Bald Eagle was looking for a place to land as it flew over other eagles and gulls that were feeding on dead carp that had been killed by Farmington Bay managers in an effort to limit the damage to the wetland done by these invasive fish. The background is the Wasatch Mountains.
1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light
I often struggle when I’m trying to decide how to crop an image like this. The rule of thumb is to give your subject extra room in the frame in the direction it is looking or flying (which are usually the same direction). But this eagle was looking to our lower left and flying to the right. Do you crop based on the direction it’s looking, the direction it’s flying or somewhere in between? I never know for sure in a situation like this.
In this case I split the difference and sort of averaged it out which pretty much centers the bird in the frame horizontally. I had more room in all directions except at the bottom. I’m curious as to what others might have done regarding the composition of this image so if you have an opinion I’d appreciate hearing about it.
Thanks,
Ron
I love the pic. of the”dirty bird” (immature baldie). As a painter, I probably would have moved the bird slightly to the right, into the right 1/3 of the picture…following the “rule of thirds”…leaving a little more space on the left..since the bird is looking left.but who cares…it’s a beautiful photo.
I like this Ron. The eye of the bird follows the line of the upper wing and the curve of the head is repeated in the curve of the wing.Maybe a bit more space in the bottom as it is going to go there and needs flying space.Then you could crop the top slightly. As is is fine.I see most of it as being in the upper third. Wonderful shot.Now I am reading the other comments.
Wonderful shot and very helpful information. Love the light!
Charlotte
I love it, and am as usual in awe at your talent and skill. However, if wishes were horses I would tend to try and give more room in the direction the bird’s glare/gaze/focus.
Thank you everyone, for all of your comments and suggestions so far. I realize that it’s sometimes difficult to let your opinion about something like this “hang out there” for all the world to see, so that makes me appreciate your efforts on my behalf even more. These kinds of honest, thoughtful comments are very valuable for me and I consider what you’ve said quite carefully.
Tim, you went the extra mile. Thanks for that!
Hi Ron, We agree with Tim, with the additional observation that the right hand frame should be cropped a little bit more, to sponsor the effect
of compression, therefore helping to indicate a movement in that direction. The increased void to the bottom left would re-enforce the fact that, thats the way the eagle is looking. Richard & Sandra.
I have an art degree, and I drew combooks as a ghost artist for Marvel, DC and others and was excepted at the California Institude for the Arts for film and video in Valencia. I didn’t attend due to money and distance. My skills are art related and not photograhy. So I thank you for a chance to critique something you are very, very good at. In any image there is only 2 dementions, in this case, length and width. There is no actual background in an image, only what is implied as depth and therefore background (third demnsion). What’s really there is surround, what surrounds the image. Composition will offer more for the eye to “create” or “fill in” what is seen as the 3rd demensional space. The Eagle is seeing space below, infront and in back of itself…..for us to experience that “force” our eyes need to feel that empty space to imagine the presence of depth. The balance of the bird (or subject) is important as well, because we can “predict” the future of a still object in open space by our own experiences. So in my opinion, cuz you asked, I think the image of the Eagle should slightly smaller and positioned a bit more to the upper right, allowing for our eyes to better follow her eyes. Thank you for letting me have fun Ron. 🙂
Tim
I find the image perfectly balanced- I think giving more weight to the obvious direction of flight is morelogical than the direction he is looking in- so what you decided on is the way to go. And I agree with Gary Peters, that you respected the rule of thrids perfectly. So from my perspective, this shot is cropped as it should be. And I absolutely love it (I happen to be a big eagle fan/lover, including juvies).
rules of composition are just guidelines to be messed with until it feels right to you, the cropper. Sometimes totally breaking convention can be very dramatic and pleasing.
Hi Ron,
As usual your photo is great and it’s very hard to discuss what should have been done to do it better. If me, I would have leave less room at the top and at the left of the bird. In order to show that the bird prepares himself to turn abruptly to his right and plunge towards a prey. It’s just a question of centimeter and feeling. Thanks again for your wonderfull posts.
If rules rule then I’d say you have it covered: the bird’s left wing is basically on the top third and the right wing in on another third. Plus it look great!
Thanks, Gary. I appreciate your input.
Ron,
I absolutely enjoy viewing your blog everyday. The shots are amazing and the description is very educational. Thanks for this everyday.
As for the pic, I think it’s great! If anything, maybe give just a tad more room in the front for the bird to be flying into..
Then again, my photo skills are nowhere close to yours 🙂
Thanks very much, Bill. Skills are one thing, tastes and preferences are another – so I appreciate knowing what you think about the composition of this image.