Cropping an Image

I recently received my tutors comments on Assignment 1. As always informative and helpful a number of issues were raised and I thought I would comment on each of them in a separate blog. Like this one some deal with specific issues but I will use the last one the series to address what has become a matter of increasing concern to me - the conflict that arises between the development of a personal style by the student and the sometimes specific advice received from the tutor.

As stated above I will use this blog to address the question of 'cropping'. At first sight this does not seem to be a major issue but in fact cropping is used frequently to improve composition and its use therefore can have a major impact upon the final image. As with all cases of composition it is a matter of personal taste (there are no right and wrong answers only personal opinion). Much depends upon the overall effect that the photographer intends in the final image. Unfortunately it is a fact that it is impossible to guarantee what interpretation the viewer of the image will place upon what is being offered. At best the viewer can only be guided in a certain direction by offering clues and again we are unable to know whether the interpretation will be as we intended.

Here is a copy of an image I submitted with Assignment 1

It was suggested that the image could be cropped to produce the following image (obviously the red area is the cropped pixels - the comment was added by my tutor).

The 'unbalanced feel' was a deliberate choice to create tension within the image. The position achieved by the dancer is, in my view, remarkable and teeters between stability and disaster and it was my intention to, in some way, have this disequilibrium reflected in the image. For me the second image has created a 'box' in which the dancer is held and it appears that she has only to reach out and touch the sides to maintain her balance.  I do not claim that the first picture is in some way better than the second but I would argue that it better reflects my interpretation.

In this second image I show the cropping suggested by my tutor.

Again I make no claims that the original is in some way better than that suggested but again I do not believe that the cropped version best reflects my view. The image is of a five year old girl who, like many of her age, had unbounded energy. She seemed to be able to occupy all dimensions of space and time at the same instant as many young children can. In some way I wanted to capture this phenomenon within the image and this was my attempt. I left space within the image for her to 'move' into. 

In summary I fully accept the suggestions put forward but I believe that they create a different result and feel to that I intended.