Willet
captured by D5 / 800mm w/TC-1.25x / Panning Plate
One of the hardest things for photographers to grasp is where can they crop a critter in the viewfinder. There is no guide or book on where you can crop a neck or leg or body. The best I can ever do to help is describe it as the awkward crop. There is one area though that I have a little more substantial aid and that comes to birds feet. Above is an example of not only an awkward crop but and general rule of thumb.
Willet
captured by D5 / 800mm w/TC-1.25x / Panning Plate
When it comes to feet, if you crop them, you need to leave enough room that mentally the viewer can put the feet with the critter. The photo above, there is great action going on but the feet are gone. In the bottom photo, the one foot is cut off by the water but there is enough room in the photo to mentally see them. It’s such a small thing but it can make or break a great photo. We need to have that finally connection with earth. Folks keep asking for cropping assist, hope this little one helps.