Recommended Approach to Resize Image

[vox]

I have an image (attached) which is essentially a square. I'd like to convert it to a 5 x7 portrait format.

I can't just re-size the image because the bird, sun, and clouds would then look odd with their vertically stretched proportions (especially the perfectly circular sun).

I was considering:

1) mask and remove the above subjects

2) fill the voids left by their removal by cloning their surrounding areas

3) extend the image area at the top part of the image. Clone its content from the black sky area.

4) move the subjects to their higher locations in the elongated canvas. e.g. the bird's leg would no longer rest of the blue curved area.

The cloning steps seem challenging, however, because the areas to process would not be insignificant, i.e. not small defects or spots.

Any suggestions on a robust workflow for this problem?

 

[Alfred]

I would go with option 3, but at the bottom of the image rather than the (very challenging!) top. Not easy whichever way you decide to go.

[vox]

Thanks Alfred. Actually, those were a list of steps, not individual options. But your recommendation to clone the bottom portion is appreciated!

[Alfred]

55 minutes ago, vox said:

Actually, those were a list of steps, not individual options.

Oops! I see that now, and looking again at steps 1 and 2 it’s a mystery to me why I didn’t see it before!! 😊

[carl123]

There are a few ways to do it. It just depends on how you want the resized (ratioed) image to look.

I prefer the easy option but without knowing the symbolism behind the image or how it is to be used (e.g., a book cover with additional text or just a framed picture?) it's not possible to know exactly which way is best for a given situation.

 

[vox]

Thanks, Carl, for the example edit.

The end use would be a framed picture.

As far as composition, I still prefer extending the top part of the image and moving the bird and clouds towards the top.

Another approach I considered was to just crop the left side to fit the 5 x7 format but it seemed to throw off the balance amongst the subjects.