Cropping Cody
Updated: Feb 3
I've lost the plot. It's been a while since they've let me me out. And, even longer since I have shot a single image worth a mention. So I thought I'd go back and look at a shoot with Cody. The shot above is the final crop. It took me around 2 hours and 30 mins to decide on the it. I used every guide that Adobe Photoshop CC2021 avails me, whilst using the crop tool. I used the thirds tool, I used the Golden Spiral tool, I referenced Bert Stern's "The Last Sitting", I cropped her back out, and rotated the image to add purpose to the pose. I did the old "rotate the images 180 degress" and crop trick I learned at art college. I considered the image as a whole, abstracting myself from the image and asking what the story is?... What am I trying to say? "What does the viewer see?" "What do I want the viewer to see?"
In the end I WhatsApped Cody and asked her... She prefers the shot above... so I went with that... If you can't trust the model to know what looks good what's the point? FYI: Below is the whole frame and the alternate crop.
Photography: Colin Anthony Model: Cody Make Up: Viktoria Kohl Assistant: Alasdair Sandy
What do you think tighter or wider? Leave a comment below...
Here are some reference books you may be interested in, regarding nude work and Bert Sterns shoot with Marilyn Monroe
