Black and White Cropping

The rule of thirds and cropping close to the subject (filling the frame) are two of my favorite photography techniques so far.

(ISO 1600, f/5, 1/30)

 

When I took this photo of Kenzie I was actually standing on a kitchen stool and looking down from higher than just standing over her.  I originally left the photo as is when I was composing a blog post about her turning 18 months but before publishing it to the web, I decided I wanted to zero in on her better.

As I cropped the photo I decided it might look good in black and white.  I am not one to put photos in black and white and almost always prefer the full color view.  Even after editing this one I had to ask Martin if it looked weird without color because I wasn't sure.  He confirmed that it looked good (never having seen it in color, by the way) and looking at it now, I love it way more than the original.  I can also see now that there are catchlights in her eyes.  If they are ever in my photos, it is not on purpose.  I will have to work on how to make them purposeful.

This is a picture my friend Megan W. posted on her blog of her dad holding her newborn preemie son.  She noted in the caption that she loves the size comparison of their hands.

So I took it upon myself to crop the photo.  Once again I think it looks great in black and white.  So cute!