cropping images

There are many different ways to crop images such as a photo, landscape, portatif and many different shapes. This style of photograghy is interesting and can outline a point in the photo that you are trying to go for.

The discovery of background elements you didn’t realize were there. Issues with the framing or composition. To better focus on your subject, such as this..

Here is some of my own photos taken in St-Malo cropped and changed into different angles and shapes.

Here’s a few before and afters.

Here it is as a circle, before and after.

Here its done with loads of black and white colour/filter.

Here is a double imagine and a triangle image.

I did this on photoshop.

I just changed the colour of the background to black and white and moved the picture onto this image to get affect of us looking down on the people as we are ‘bigger’ which gives a cool illusion and affect onto the St-Malo project.

Motion Blur

First I started with this image and used the quick selection tool to select everything but the person in the foreground. I than layered via copy to allow me to use the motion blur filter to make the whole background blurry. I then changed both layers to be black and white as I found it made the image look better and more meaningful. This is my final image;

I think this image works really well with the motion blur however, the person in the foreground doesn’t stand out as much as I anticipated so I am going to experiment, using the same technique, with other photographs I have taken.

Editing street photography

Selective colour fill:

Here I used Lightroom to only saturate parts of the image with the specific colour I want. Then using the brush tool (with settings that make the selected parts of the image unsaturated/black and white) I went over parts of the image which also had that colour in and turned made those parts black and white. This is a effective method as it forces the eyes to the main subject.

Motion Blur:

For the 2 top images I added motion blur after on photoshop by selecting the subjects, Inverting the selection and duplicated it. Then on the duplicated layer I added Motion blur, adjusting its angle to make it look more realistic, as if my camera was locked onto the subjects while I was moving. Since it was busy when we went, there where many other people in the background where they viewers eyes could drift off to which isn’t ideal, so by blurring the background it makes the subject(s) stand out more. For the bottom Image the person has real motion blur because I increased the shutter opening time. This also makes the image very bright so to combat this I increased the f-stop and decreased the ISO. I think this is a nice effect as it shows movement in the walls of the town, making it feel more alive in my photos.

Through the Window of St Malo

Final Images

While in St Malo I wanted to experiment with taking photos of shops, items inside the shops and using the reflection in the shop window etc. I wanted to do this, because the shops in St Malo were very different to the shops that we have in Jersey, so this really interested me. St Malo was full of small own business shops and there was very little high end designer or branded shops. This intrigued me, because all of the shops were quite unique.

Items

Analysis

I think these images came out well, because they display how the shops offer different items and things to Jersey shops, as well as each other, as they all offer different things. These photos also display how even the food is different in St Malo compared to Jersey.

These images also have good composition and lighting and have been edited well in my opinion.

How do these images relate to Henri Cartier-Bresson?

These images don’t necessarily relate Henri, but they do show the lives of the people living in St Malo and how their lives differ from ours back at Jersey.

People

Analysis

These images display the lives of the locals in St Malo, as I have snapped images of them living their day to day lives (candid photos). These images also display all different types of people, eg: young, old, male, female. I have also tried to use shop windows to my advantage, by capturing people through the windows without them seeing me and using the window reflection to my advantage.

The composition of these photos are also good, even though they all have different compositions. The lighting and editing are also good in these images.

How do these images relate to Henri Cartier-Bresson?

These images relate to Henri Cartier-Bresson, because I was observing the peoples day to day lives in these images (mostly without them knowing) and waiting for the decisive moment, which is what Henri did. I took candid shots of these people, which is what Henri did, while he walked the streets observing the people.

Ferris-wheel

Analysis

I like these images, even though they are a different style. I like these photos, because they produce different angles of St Malo and the people from St Malo. I was able to achieve higher up angles for my photos and did capture a few landscape shots. I was also able to capture other people on the Ferris-wheel with us. I also had fun on the Ferris-wheel and I don’t think anyone else really went on it.

How do these images relate to Henri Cartier-Bresson?

These images don’t necessarily relate to Henri, but I had fun taking them. They also do show life in St Malo from other angles and the lives of people from other angles.

Bringing the People of St Malo to life

I wanted to experiment with bringing the people, who are still in these images to life. I wanted to do this by using motion blurring.

  • First, I duplicated my background and selected my person. Then, I selected inverse and deleted the background.
  • Next, I went to filter and motion blur and selected how blurry I wanted it and what angle I want the blur to be.
  • If my person got too transparent I would also duplicate the layer with only my person, before I motion blur it, so there is always an opaque copy.

I wanted to also experiment creating different scenes in St Malo, so I used AI to do this. I also used AI to create more shop windows and reflections, so I could experiment with that even more.

  • First, I selected an image I wanted to use and selected where I wanted the AI to go. Then, I selected generative fill and typed in the prompts that I wanted and finally selected which one I thought looked best.

Experimentation – Colour Selection

I used colour selection for some of my St Malo images, ones with people involving significant colours or were close to the camera. For each one, I wanted to ensure subtlety was involved as this way, it wouldn’t entirely draw attention away from the purpose or intention behind the photo. As well as this, it meant that there was still a bright pop of colour amongst the grey tones.

I also created this on a selection of hot pink graffiti as this is something that is frequently spotted around St Malo, becoming a part of the small town’s culture.

To complete this experimentation, I duplicated the layers of the same image to begin. I then made one layer black and white:

After I concealed the black and white layer, I selected the layer which was still in colour and went to colour range:

Here, I could select a variety of different tones and colours found in a specific area. By doing this, I would keep these colours saturated whilst the unselected components remained black and white:

After grabbing each tone of red on the woman’s jacket using the positive eyedropper, I inverted the layers so that the red jacket would pop out:

This was the final result once I rubbed out any imperfections picked up:

Edits- Observe, Seek, Challenge

St Malo

St Malo is mainly a tourist destination, so it was ‘normal’ for the locals to see us taking pictures with our cameras. We also saw many other tourists who were not with us taking photos with either their phones or cameras. There were many different shops and food stalls in St Malo, which attracted many tourists. There was also the Ferris-wheel.

Contact Sheet

The images that are highlighted green are my best images and the images I have decided to edit, because they show people’s every day lives the best, while have the best composition. They are also the different types of images I have experimented with.

Edits

These images are images I have taken with the camera at eye level, so people knew I was taking photos in these.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, whites and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and so the background of the sea and boats would be more visible and eye capturing.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more eye capturing.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited these images by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the images would be more vibrant and eye capturing.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have be brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the person in this image would stand out more.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting.

I edited these images by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more eye capturing. Also so the people would stand out more.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would be brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would be brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have be more vibrant and all the colours on the caracal would pop more.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the lady’s bag and umbrella would pop more and be the main focus.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the coloured umbrella and backpack would pop more and be more eye capturing.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would have better lighting and be more vibrant.

Hip Shots

These are images I have taken with the camera at hip level, so it is less visible that I am taking photos, so that people will not change their expressions or actions when I am taking the photos.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was more vibrant and had better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so the colours in the image would pop more and be more vibrant, such as the flags and coloured clothing.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the coloured clothing and flags in this image would pop more, and so the image was slightly brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was more vibrant and had better lighting. Also, so the ladies coat was more vibrant and stood out more.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was more vibrant and had better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was more vibrant and had better lighting.

I edited these images by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the images were brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was brighter and had better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was brighter and had better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was brighter and had better lighting, and so the green bench was slightly more vibrant.

I edited these images by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so red furniture would pop more and be more vibrant, so that it was eye capturing. I also wanted the lighting to be better.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so all the different colours in this image, such as the red furniture and her coloured umbrella would pop more and be more vibrant, so that the image was more eye capturing. I also wanted the image to be slightly brighter, so that the lighting was better.

Blurry Images

For these images I experimented with the shutter speed by slowing it down, so that anyone or thing that is moving will be slightly or very blurry, while I am stood still taking the images.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the colours in this photo would be more vibrant and the lighting would be better.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so the different colours in this image would be much more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so the image was brighter and had better lighting.

I edited these images by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the image had better lighting.

Shop windows/ Reflections

For these images I experimented with using shop windows/ reflections, so I took pictures of people inside the stores from outside the window. I also just took images of people shopping and browsing.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so that the lighting would be better and their brightly coloured coats more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so that the lighting would be better and all the brightly coloured clothing would be more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so that the lighting would be better and the colours in the image would pop more.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, saturation and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so that the lighting was better.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights saturation and blacks. I did this so that the image was brighter and the people could be seen better.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights, saturation and blacks. I did this so that the lighting was better and all the colours were more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, saturation and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so that the image had better lighting.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, vibrancy, highlights and blacks. I did this so that the colours would pop more.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, saturation and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so that the lighting was better.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, saturation and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this so that the lighting was better and the person could be seen more clearly through the window.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so the image is brighter and her neon coat more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this so the lighting was better in these images.

Experimenting with Black and White Images

I made all these images by making a virtual copy of the final edited images. Then, I edited them more so after they’ve been made black and white if need so.

I edited this image even more after turning it black and white, by increasing the contrast and whites more, while decreasing the highlights, shadows and blacks more. I did this so there was lots of contrast.

I edited this image even more, by increasing the contrast, shadows and whites more, while decreasing the highlights and blacks more. I did this so the image would have more contrast.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows and whites more and decreasing the blacks and highlights more. I did this so there was more contrast and the reflection in the window was more apparent.

I edited this image more by increasing the contrast, shadows, highlights and whites more, while decreasing the blacks more. I did this so there is more contrast.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows and whites, while decreasing the highlights and blacks more. I did this to create more contrast.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows and whites, while decreasing the highlights and blacks more. I did this to create more contrast.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows and whites, while decreasing the highlights and blacks more. I did this to create more contrast.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows and whites, while decreasing the highlights and blacks more. I did this to create more contrast.