Black-bellied Plover – Composition is a Matter of Personal Taste

Black-bellied Plover – Composition is a Matter of Personal Taste



One photo of a Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), two different compositions: As much as I like to compose images that are full frame I find that I often allow myself a touch of extra space around my subject so I can recompose in post processing by making different crops.

When I photographed the resting Black-bellied Plover in the frame above it was on the edge of a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto’s north beach with evening light falling softly on the shorebird. For this version I cropped a little off of the left side of the frame to make the bird closest to that edge because the plover was looking towards the right side of the frame and used a horizontal format. I wanted to leave as much of the water as possible in this composition because I love the contrast of the cool blues of the water and the light, warm tones of the sand and the bird’s plumage.

As much as I like to compose images that are full frame I find that I often allow myself a touch of extra space around my subject so I can recompose in post processing by making different crops.

This is the same image but I cropped it vertically and tighter around the subject. I like both compositions and find them equally appealing but other people they may prefer one over the other because of their own personal tastes.

black bellied plover vertical mia mcpherson 0858
Nonbreeding Black-bellied Plover on one leg (vertical) – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

black bellied plover horizontal mia mcpherson 0858
Nonbreeding Black-bellied Plover on one leg (horizontal) – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Mia McPherson, OntheWingPhotography.com

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Mia McPherson

Mia McPherson is a nature lover, wildlife watcher and an avian photographer. Mia first become serious about bird photography when she moved to Florida in 2004. Her recent move to the Salt Lake area of Utah was a great opportunity to continue observing their behavior and photographing them. With so many birds species there easily accessible it wasn’t long before she was hooked. By learning more about each species, she can anticipate their behaviour and create opportunities to obtain ever better images of those species.

Mia McPherson

Mia McPherson is a nature lover, wildlife watcher and an avian photographer. Mia first become serious about bird photography when she moved to Florida in 2004. Her recent move to the Salt Lake area of Utah was a great opportunity to continue observing their behavior and photographing them. With so many birds species there easily accessible it wasn’t long before she was hooked. By learning more about each species, she can anticipate their behaviour and create opportunities to obtain ever better images of those species.

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