Amputation

[Pea-n-Me]

This was brought up on another thread recently, and I found it fascinating because it was never something that I really thought too much about "consciously".

I realize now, though, that I, and many of us "amateurs" out there, do it a lot, and it really takes away from our pictures.

What brought it to mind today was looking for a picture for this week's photo contest. I have a nice picture of Captain Hook in front of Disney Wonder, but alas, I amputated his feet!

 

[AndrewWG]

His hand seems to have been amputated as well.

 

[InsertWittyNameHere]

I read somewhere that cropping a portrait from anywhere below the knees isn't a good thing composition wise.

 

[wenrob]

I did this last night. Youngest DD was in a somersault position and I got down on the floor to get it. I cropped her butt off. I actually was thinking of posting it here to see if anyone had any creative cropping ideas to try and save it.

 

[AndrewWG]

What I have read is that you do not want to amputate any part of the arms or legs at a joint. I think that if you have to cut off anything, you want your pic to be above the elbow or knees. It is possible that some say it is ok that it is below the elbow or knees, but I think I like the look of above them better. It also brings the subject into more of a full frame that way.

 

[MontanaZoo]

Wow, this is a really brutal thread.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

His hand seems to have been amputated as well.

Ha ha, at least I got the whole hook in the picture!

I did this last night. Youngest DD was in a somersault position and I got down on the floor to get it. I cropped her butt off. I actually was thinking of posting it here to see if anyone had any creative cropping ideas to try and save it.

Let's see it, Wendy!

I was actually hoping people would post pictures so we could all learn from them.

I read somewhere that cropping a portrait from anywhere below the knees isn't a good thing composition wise.

What I have read is that you do not want to amputate any part of the arms or legs at a joint.

Hmm. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. ?links

 

[wenrob]

Let's see it, Wendy!

 

[jann1033]

i don't think this really looks that bad since it kind of frames that cute little face but lets you know what you are looking at. butts are overrated

 

[jann1033]

What I have read is that you do not want to amputate any part of the arms or legs at a joint. I think that if you have to cut off anything, you want your pic to be above the elbow or knees. It is possible that some say it is ok that it is below the elbow or knees, but I think I like the look of above them better. It also brings the subject into more of a full frame that way.

i am guessing you mean you might cut off someone mid thigh but not at the knee? or maybe like 1/2 way down the upper arm for a upper body type shot? i think much more cut off than that ( mid thgh) would look chopped off rather than intended..even if it wasn't i think it looks worse you you cut off like 1/2 a foot or hand or (no offense to P) 1/2 a boot sorry andy i guess is kipped over the part i highlighted when i edited it I knew i read it somewhere before

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Wendy, I was thinking if you cropped the top 1/4 off, it might work better. (Tried to do it but your picture wouldn't upload for me. )

 

[AndrewWG]

i am guessing you mean you might cut off someone mid thigh but not at the knee? or maybe like 1/2 way down the upper arm for a upper body type shot? i think much more cut off than that ( mid thgh) would look chopped off rather than intended..even if it wasn't i think it looks worse you you cut off like 1/2 a foot or hand or (no offense to P) 1/2 a boot sorry andy i guess is kipped over the part i highlighted when i edited it I knew i read it somewhere before

Yeah, as I understand it, you don't want your picture to stop at someones knees or elbows. It just looks unnatural I guess. If given the option, you should crop to the upper thigh or arm (in my opinion) or the calf or forearm I suppose. Just not right at any joint like the knee or elbow. Seems strange, but try cropping some pics different ways and you can see a difference. I suppose this is also true of feet/ankles. Either have the whole foot or crop it up the calf a bit.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I've also been told that it is best not to cut off your subjects head. I know that for some people it seems like it would be a good idea, but composition rules say otherwise.

 

[gruZ]

Next time you can, take a look at the pictures the photopass people take. I was speaking with one on a past trip, and if I remember correctly she said they purposely "amputate" the guests below the knees / above the ankles. For some reason they don't like to include feet in their pictures.

The exception to this is if a character is included in the picture, in which case they will sometimes include the full length shot.

 

[wenrob]

Hmmm, I will have to go have a look at my photo pass pics.

Jann, lol, I agree butts are overrated! Thanks for the nice comment on my little one.

Pea-like this? Or more?

 

[jann1033]

I've also been told that it is best not to cut off your subjects head. I know that for some people it seems like it would be a good idea, but composition rules say otherwise.

i think that entirely depends on how ugly they are, in some cases rules are meant to be broken

 

[MontanaZoo]

Apparently I enjoy amputating...that sounds evil...

My soon to be ex-brother-in-law's arm....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/1185172771/

My niece's legs...off with her head!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/1187608646/

My brother's torso (I really should have kept his other hand in frame, but his expression was so great, I was trying to tighten in on that)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliez_pics/1185833371/

 

[brack]

There is a general "rule of thirds" for cropping photos of people. You can Google this for specifics.

 

[Shan-man]

I d/led your very cute pic and found that a square crop works quite nicely. It gets rid of background distractions on the left and dead space on the right and emphasizes the tightness of the composition (a good thing, I think). I think the closeness of the shot makes it more adorable than seeing the whole body.

 

[Michele]

What I have read is that you do not want to amputate any part of the arms or legs at a joint. I think that if you have to cut off anything, you want your pic to be above the elbow or knees. It is possible that some say it is ok that it is below the elbow or knees, but I think I like the look of above them better. It also brings the subject into more of a full frame that way.

I found some examples of this in the Homecoming pics I took last weekend. This pic cut off above her knees

looks much better than this one at her knees.