Creating the Story - Importance of the Crop

I read a recent article on Street photography via PetaPixel on how to make better street photos.

The article reminded me of a photo I took last summer during an impromptu visit to New York City. We were walking around Central park, a bevy of people and activity all around us. We paused at the Bethesda Fountain, as it was clear to me it was a significant landmark in the park.

The photo above was taken with my "big camera". The shot is just "OK" in my opinion. What story does it tell? Like most summer afternoons, it was crowded at the fountain. Yawn, just another day...

As we explored the area around the fountain, I stumbled across what looked to be a wedding photo shoot. Or maybe it was a magazine photo shoot. I mused to myself "this feels special and unique to everything else I have seen today", and I quickly snapped a photo on my phone. I didn't have time to get out my big camera before the scene dissipated into the crowds. (It felt apparent that the bride wasn't happy with the throngs of people around.)

Here's the original photo I took of that scene:

Yeah, not so impressive. I didn't get myself close enough to the scene, there's that woman to the right creating visual clutter, and the exposure is too dark. But instead of hitting the garbage can icon, I decided to crop it in. My focus was of the bride and her groom, patiently waiting in the wings and the archway framing the bride. I converted it to Black and White to play up the groom's silhouette as the original photo was too dark to get any details. I did these edits right in my phone, using the Instagram app.

The final edit:

With all the extra "stuff" gone, the scene is focused and I want to know more about this couple's story.

Don't be afraid to crop away to bring emphasis to the story you want to tell.