Hi Graham, i would go with Photo 2. Lean the trunk more to the left and turn the top jin slightly forward. This would accentuate the branching out and away in more windswept fashion. It may also catch some of the live bark line for the viewer. Take the longer view and reduce back the branches over time to grow out the remaining innermost foliage. These hemlocks can put on amazing growth after adapting. Fertilise heavy you may be surprised by the amount of back budding. I know My Hemlocks have back budded way more than the pundits say they do. Also as you know it is unwise to reduce too many roots or foliage on a Hemlock at one time. By using the smallest inner branches to grow out the final foliage it will be easier to achieve the scale you are looking for. In the end you may remove the lowest branch to achieve more of a sparse windswept look. Some of the windswept trees i noted in newfoundland this summer only had branches and foliage on the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the tree.
If you use Photo 2 for the front do a little carving to reduce the straightline cut at the base over time.
When repotting, i reccomend the section method , with the key focus to remove the inner mass of original soil as soon as possible. That way the fine network of feeder roots closer to the surface are not disturbed all at once. If my expression of this concept is unclear just give me a call. Basically it is one of the options that Michael Hagedorn teaches specifically for Hemlocks. The growth of foliage never skips a beat with this method.