Cream of the Crop

Design Basics Index (2004) has once again taught me to amplify my creative skills. I really do enjoy editing photos on iPhoto and Instagram, so this activity really made me go back to my pictures from a few years back and delve into the meaning of these pictures. I wanted to crop them in a way so that the viewer can see through my eyes.

First, I started with this picture:

This picture was taken in Wildwood, NJ a few years back. I was astonished at the color of the sky. I thought that it looked awesome against the different color flags representing the water park. Thus, I decided to crop this picture to get rid of the unnecessary plain building and telephone poles. I wanted to aim more towards the color of the sky, the car lights, and the colorful flags leading to the water park. I think this photo is so colorful and being able to crop it makes it look even better!

Second photo:

My first photo was a general picture of flowers that I saw in a backyard in Italy. What I wanted to emphasize was that the flowers were gorgeous. How can you see that in the first picture when there is the gorgeous sun beating down on the trees and flowers? I wanted to divert the attention to the actual flowers that I found so amazing. I cropped out the rest of the picture and just focused on the flowers that someone may not see when they first look at the picture. I am again reminded of how beautiful they really are!

Third:

In these photos, I wanted to take notice of the people living along the Tiber River. The first picture captures the essence of the city, but there is so much black that it looks like this city is in the middle of the air. In the second picture, you see more of the reflection of the lights in the water, so it gives you a better understanding of how this town is literally on the Tiber River. I wanted to cut out the extra "blank" parts of the picture to focus in on the night life, literally.

Fourth:

 This is a picture of a terrace in Capri, Italy. I wanted to take a picture of the atmosphere. It was so relaxing and peaceful. There was no one there, there were umbrellas, couches, sun, beautiful view, etc. The top picture doesn't really capture all of that essence. When I look at the second picture, I automatically think of style and comfort in the couches behind the first one. I think of relaxing in the shade on a sunny day. This picture could even be used for an ad! I like this group because you can get rid of the other details that you don't need. This second picture gives you everything you need to feel as if you were there on that day.

Fifth:

I personally enjoy looking at both of these pictures. However, when I looked at the first picture I noticed an element that I wasn't trying to capture on purpose. I realized I captured the visual for a restaurant. Immediately I thought to myself "I could definitely crop this picture to make it seem like I am just advertizing the restaurant's beautiful atmosphere". When you first look at the picture, you don't notice right away that it is a restaurant right on the water. Thus, I wanted to crop this picture to bring out a message the originally picture is displaying. I want the viewers to see this restaurant up close and see how beautifully placed it is right on top of the water. Beautiful ambiance!

Sixth: I saved the best for last : )

I wanted to use this picture to crop because we had a million different pictures to choose from to use as our card. Now, the pictures were great, except they were lacking that intimate close feeling you get when you look at a warm picture. In the first picture, the Christmas tree is awkwardly placed next to me, not in the center, not directly behind me, just awkwardly next to me. Secondly, we are too far way to get that "close" feel. When I cropped it, I aimed for the tree to be in a perfect position behind us to represent Christmas time, but I wanted us to be in front to represent our love and closeness as a family during that time. I think that by cropping this picture and making it closer, it gives the viewer the feeling of closeness as well.

I really learned a lot from cropping and took on a whole new perspective. I looked at pictures in a way I didn't mean for them to be taken. I saw images that if I cropped, they would stand out so much more and bring life to an additional photo. I wanted to bring my photos to life and that is what I have learned from this activity. Just a simply cropping can give off a whole new meaning to a photo!