California sea lions at Pier 39 - Horizontal vs Vertical formats.

California sea lion having a good scratch, Pier 39, San Francisco.

While visiting Pier 39 yesterday (September 30), we saw the sea lion basking area that is so famous.  Sure enough, there were California sea lions, although not the horde that there is room for.  And their larger kin, the Steller's sea lions, weren't in attendance.

I got off a few good shots, but I especially liked this one giving itself a good scratch with its front flipper.  I decided to crop it both vertically and horizontally, making two different files, to compare which one was more appealing and why.

I prefer the vertical format, but why?  What makes it better than the horizontal format? After all, they are both the same image.  It turns out it has to do with composition.

The two main points, the face and the flipper, are relatively close together.  The narrow vertical format allows them to be near to the thirds positioning.  Horizontally, they are similar, except that there is little detail to the right, whereas the lower details of the vertical format are much more interesting and hold your attention longer.

I often find that an image can be cropped either way, but one will usually be better than the other.  The reason often comes down to composition, details, and important clues as to what is happening.  

They weren't in the least put off by the people who were gawking at and photographing them.  We stayed for maybe ten minutes and then left to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  I will write a blog on that soon.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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