Saturday Scraplift: Crop Till You Drop!

Hi all! It’s Amy L bringing you this week’s Saturday Scraplift. This week we’ll be lifting this fun page by Sharon:

Sharon made her page for the ABC challenge, but I’m focusing on the fun “crop” of her photo as our inspiration. In photography, to crop is defined as “To cut away the outer edges of an image to focus on the subject”. Cropping can remove distractions, evoke emotion, and show the viewer what we want to emphasize in our photo. In scrapbooking, we can simulate a crop by layering an element over part of our photo, as Sharon did on her page. For this lift, I thought it would be fun to choose a cropping principle and apply it to the photo or photos on your page.

Here are a few techniques you might find useful in cropping your photos for this lift:

1. Rule of thirds: I always come back to the rule of thirds when cropping my photos. To envision this, draw an imaginary grid over your photo with two vertical lines intersected by two horizontal lines, like a tic-tac-toe board. Placing your subject on one of the points where the lines cross gives a pleasing composition.

2. When shooting a subject in profile, always give it room to “look into”. This means if your subject is facing to the right, place it toward the left side of the photo with empty space ahead of it.

3. Angle your photo. Cropping your photo at an angle can provide a playful look.

4. Crop in close to evoke emotion. Think close-ups of cute baby feet, an interesting part of a flower, or the eyes as Sharon did in the inspiration page.

5. Crop into shapes. There are lots of fun shaped elements in the store. Circles, ovals, diamonds, and squares can give your photo a unique look.

6. Finally, crop in camera! This is an excellent practice that simplifies your work later on. Before you shoot that photo, take a second to compose it in a pleasing way. This can help you make sure you don’t accidentally cut off an important body part or add a distracting background.

So let’s try it! I put this idea to our Creative Team and they came up with some amazing examples!

First up is Carol. I always love reading Carol’s stories, and this one about a tough time in her brother’s life is told with a heart full of love and tenderness. The dark colors set the mood of the page, and the photo crop gives us just the perfect peek into Trevor’s struggle. I really love this page!

Supplies Carol used: Sacked Solids Paper Pack 02, Big Bottom Lift Classic Photo Frames 01, Spill Frame Layers 20, Ledger Grids 04 Brushes and Stamps, All Clear Arrows 01, Lens Flares: Colors 01, Clean Stitched Borders 03 Charcoal, Flair Minis 02, Field Notes Ephemera.

Next up is Linda with an absolutely stunning photo of her kitty George. The lighting in this photo is glorious! Linda’s crop is a great example of giving the subject room to look off to the side. I love how she framed this lovely photo too. And isn’t the monogram pin the perfect finishing touch?

Supplies Linda used: Vintage Mini Mix 20, Little Round Tabs 03, Torn and Framed Layered Template 11, Far and Wide Solids Paper Pack, Vintage Artistry Nature Study Foliage Ephemera, Vintage Orchard Ephemera, Vintage Mini Mix Kit 15, Walden Element Pack, Wood Veneer Keylined Photo Frames 01, Berry Patch Element Pack, Krafty Journal Spots 02, Pinned Wood Veneer Monograms 01, Drop Shadow Styles 02.

Creative Team member Penny came up with a delightful lift! I love the whimsical photo with the great crop, and her journaling is so fun. I love the eye candy layers Penny tucked behind the photo.

Supplies Penny used: Layer Works 1990, Thin Classic Photo Frames Curled and Flat 02, ARToption Mini Mix 15.

I love the next one and I know you will too! Rachael has the perfect photo crop! Those little feet are just so sweet. And as always, Rachael’s layers are divine!

Supplies Rachael used:

Worth Repeating 49, Layer Works 2647, Layer Works 2642, Spectrum | Sherbet Strawberry Painted Grid Transfers, Spectrum | Sherbet Blends, Spectrum | Sherbet Palette Transfers, Spectrum | Sherbet Botanical Transfers, Spectrum | Sherbet Strawberry Painted Grid Transfers, ARToptions Alena Ephemera, Artsy Botanical: Cerrel Value Pack, Sun Porch Clusters, Classic Frame Layers 01, Artsy Paint Type Clusters Brushes and Stamps 02, Plum Harvest Mini Kit, Krafty Garden Wishing Bubbles, Patterning Palettes 02 Painted Layers.

Finally, I decided to crop in close on a flower. Nature is so amazing! I was also inspired by Sharon’s great use of layers.

Supplies I used: ARToptions Blendable Layers 03, ARToptions Avesta Scrapbooking Bundle, ARToptions Mini Mix 12, Thin Classic Frames 01.

I hope you’ll give photo cropping a try. Remember, even practicing cropping in camera counts! Please post your page in the Saturday Scraplift Challenge gallery. as well as adding it to the October Challenge Participation thread. Enjoy your scrapping!