Trunk or Treat, Graceland Enactus program. October 31, 2025.

I recently sent a bunch of Trunk or Treat photos to the local newspaper. I generally shoot pretty close to how I want my final image to look, and then do a bit of cropping before I send the final version of each photo to the newspaper. Most photos benefit from a bit of cropping.

The above photo is an exception. What caught my eye was the two people in the middle of the frame. My first instinct was to shoot just the two of them, but there was a lot going on around them, so I shot really loose instead of capturing just the two of them.

When it came time to work on the photo for the paper, it occurred to me the whole image works as an overall representation of the variety of people and costumes at the event. I could send in the whole image to the paper as is.

Trunk or Treat, Graceland Enactus program. October 31, 2025.

But I decided to go with my first instinct. I cropped the image to show the two central characters. The image immediately above is what I sent to the paper. I like the contrast between the happier clown and the scary character behind her, who is also a clown.

Trunk or Treat, Graceland Enactus program. October 31, 2025.

But there is a third image of just the one clown. It is a study of her face and makeup, and no scariness from the clown behind her.

So there are three different images in my original capture, each one with a different feel. Any of the three versions would work, depending on how you wanted to use the image. It is all in the cropping.