Cropping helicopter photo's

[Thurian]

I've had a photo rejected because the aircraft(helicopter) is not "centred"
What is the best way to crop a helicopter picture? do you centre the cockpit and lose a rotor tip or what?
Thanks for any advice.

[brianw999]

It's too low in the frame. Run the horizontal centre just above the bottom of the door window line. As it is, there's too much dead space above.

[Thurian]

Thanks Brian, I never think of the horizontal centring, I thought there was too much dead apron in original pic which is why I brought a/c down the frame.
As to the vertical centring for helicopters, do I run the centre line tru the rotor?
This seems to leave the main fuselage off centre and a rotor tip out in empty space.

[brianw999]

Thanks Brian, I never think of the horizontal centring, I thought there was too much dead apron in original pic which is why I brought a/c down the frame.
As to the vertical centring for helicopters, do I run the centre line tru the rotor?
This seems to leave the main fuselage off centre and a rotor tip out in empty space.

Helicopters are a bugger to centre because there are so many bits sticking out in every direction ! Two shots of the same aircraft from the same angle could be centred differently depending on where the rotor blades are.

If I'm showing the whole aircraft to include the rotors then I'll centre with the rotor head an equal distance from the top of frame as the skids are to the bottom of frame. Horizontally, I'd centre with the distance nose to frame side the same as tail to frame side.
For closer crops I always make sure the rotor head is in frame and centre body to top of frame and body to bottom of frame equidistant.

Sometimes it just doesn't "look right" though. Very often, if the composition looks balanced to the eye then it will be accepted. The second example below shows this where the rotor tip is tight to the top of frame. Here the rotor head is the same distance to the top of frame as the skids are to bottom of frame and the pic becomes balanced to the eye.

Here's a few examples.....

[photoid=6578940]
[photoid=6576324]
[photoid=6576321]
[photoid=6515779]

[Thurian]

Thanks again Brian,
I guess I'll just have to experiment and see what "looks right"!