How to frame a V-22 Osprey.

[Joe Copalman]

As cool as the Osprey is, it's a pain the butt to shoot.  Aside from the slow-spinning rotors/props making it nearly impossible to get sharp shots with any appreciable prop blur, they're fairly difficult to frame in a way that results in a balanced image.  I've learned that with helicopters, you can chop of some of the rotor tips and still have a really good photo of a helicopter.  But chopping off the prop on an airplane just results in a goofy photo.  And I can't figure out where the Osprey fits in between those two bookends.  Here are some different edits of a photo of a V-22 that I took last week in Yuma.  Please post your thoughts on what crops you think work and which ones do not.  While I'm mainly seeking input on framing/cropping, please feel free to point out any other areas in which the image can be improved.  

1. Framed as it came out of the camera.  To tell the truth, I actually kind of like this, but it feels a bit too wide.  My goal when shooting was to keep the tips of the props in frame.

2. Cropped so as to keep the tips of the props in the frame.  I am not a fan of this crop.  The fuselage is sitting way too low in the image and it throws the balance of the image off.  But, at least from this angle, it's really the only way to keep the props in-frame and still maintain a tighter crop.

3. Cropped more or less how I crop most of my fixed-wing shots, with the fuselage more or less centered along the "equator" of the photo, balancing the photo rather well, but resulting in the chop-off of both rotor tips.  Again, on a helo, this would not be something I'd even think twice about, but it just looks so different on a V-22.  

I know these are all fairly conventional crops.  Two more posted below.

[Joe Copalman]

And here are the less-conventional crops:

4. Square.  While I think that square-framed photos have their place, I think it should be used sparingly.  I'm 50/50 on this.  It's centered fairly well and has the full props in the image, but it feels a bit cramped.

5. Tight crop/Negative space.  Something a bit more arty, and I do have a bit of a thing for negative space, especially behind an aircraft.  

Any input is greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

-Joe

[bilwor]

Joe, I personally like #4 not cropped quite so much and #1 centered as below. Just my 2 cents
bill word

[Matt Ottosen]

I have this same problem, I just don't know how to crop an Osprey shot.  Here are a couple of mine, and I just don't like how they came out.