Cropping Photos

[Jamie]

I hope this is in the right place. I have a quick short question.

When i'm editing photos and I want to crop the scene, should I ideally be sticking to certain ratio sizes when cropping my work?

Kind Regards

Jamie

 

[kevinparis]

like most things there are no real rules - but there are probably 4 ratios that are common

4:3 - the native ratio of a 4/3 camera - and standard definition TV

3:2 - the classic 35mm film format ratio

1:1 - Square format - used by old medium format film cameras

16:9 - the widescreen TV format.

probably more important than the ratio is to make sure the elements in your picture fit in the right place. A good rule of thumb is the rule of thirds

Rule of thirds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Its an excellent starting point in deciding how to crop

cheers

K

 

[Fiddler]

I'm no expert, so just my opinion, but I thought about that myself, and came to the conclusion that I should crop to whatever gives the most pleasing result. The only downside is that if you print and frame sometimes an unusual frame size is needed.

All the best,

Colin

 

[Streetshooter]

+1 on Kevin's post!

like most things there are no real rules - but there are probably 4 ratios that are common

4:3 - the native ratio of a 4/3 camera - and standard definition TV

3:2 - the classic 35mm film format ratio

1:1 - Square format - used by old medium format film cameras

16:9 - the widescreen TV format.

probably more important than the ratio is to make sure the elements in your picture fit in the right place. A good rule of thumb is the rule of thirds

Rule of thirds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Its an excellent starting point in deciding how to crop

cheers

K

 

[Jamie]

Thank you, this information is invaluable for me. So far I have been cropping by eye to what I think fits the scene. As I am learning I should keep the possibility of prints in mind so I'll try to keep to some of the standard ratios. Hopefully I shouldn't need to crop too often if I get my framing right in the initial shots but it is something I will keep in mind

Again many thanks

Jamie

 

[feppe]

Some purists say one should always try to get the shot in-camera, and not crop. I feel one should always try to get the shot in-camera, but crop if necessary. It's not always possible to zoom with your feet, I don't always have all my lenses with me, some shots just scream square, but my (digital) cameras don't have that aspect ratio, etc.

Printing is not an issue with cropping, but finding and making right mat and frame is. It's either tedious, time-consuming and/or expensive for non-standard aspect ratios and sizes. And those standards are different in Europe than in the US - might be even different in UK.

FWIW I crop when necessary and don't pay attention to standard aspect ratios. I print most of my keepers, but rarely mat or frame them.

 

[Brianetta]

If you plan to get a quick print from a self-service machine in a supermarket (where a choice of aspect ratio is generally not given), a 2:3 image will suffer from practically no cropping.

 

[kevinparis]

I probably crop the majority of my pictures by some extent - but I almost always crop to the proportion of the original picture... I shoot from the hip a lot of the time so cropping and straightening is part of my workflow

cheers

K

 

[Djarum]

If I crop I crop in the same format most times. There have been occasions where I took a picture at 4:3 and I'll crop to 16:9. I've also, but rarely, cropped a 4:3 in landscape photo to 4:3 portrait.

 

[Streetshooter]

Jamie,
Don't adhere to an aspect for cropping. Make the image the way You see it.
Then, make a mat to a certain aspect and your good.

 

[Narnian]

1:1 - Square format - used by old medium format film cameras

Don't forget 6x7! Though I usually shot 6x9 since it is the same ratio as 35mm.

I have seen photos cropped in every size imaginable, including irregular, trapezoid, round, oval, etc.

The question should always be asked "does this crop make the photo better?".

 

[Djarum]

The question should always be asked "does this crop make the photo better?".

+1

 

[WT21]

For those who've said cropping fulfills vision -- except when you try to find a print shop with paper the size of your vision! (just went through this myself). I don't print much, so I was nervous that the shop might a) stretch the image (least likely), b) crop the image to THEIR preference, or c) put in letterboxing border. I found Adorama (in NYC) gave me a choice in my on-line form, so I used them (and went with letterboxing).

 

[Streetshooter]

If you make say, a 7 1/2 x 9 image and float it on an 8x10 or 11x14 paper for example, it doesn't matter. They print on the paper size and never interfere with the image.

 

[bernard]

Every shot I crop two times: first crop is best for picture, and I dont care for ratios, and second (if picture is really good) on 16 : 10 ratio - on monitor, like wallpaper. Why I crop? simply because of vertical and horizontal lines ...

 

[Djarum]

The biggest reason I crop is probably just to get rid of negative or wasted space. While a zoom lens can do the same, sometimes I don't know what will look better until I see it on a monitor. I'd rather have too much than not enough. Once you take too much, you can't get it back(kinda like a haircut, LOL).

 

[sinpig]

If you plan to get a quick print from a self-service machine in a supermarket (where a choice of aspect ratio is generally not given), a 2:3 image will suffer from practically no cropping.

Well I didn't know this before and my camera was a set to 4:3 so when I printed them, I lost some of the image which was not a big deal, except for when I framed the subject really thight. Now I know to set the camera to 3:2 and always use a set value (3.5x 5, 4x6, 8x10)for the intended print size when cropping. It saves me a headache.

Also I use the grid lines when taking the picture so I know what to position where. But don't take it from me, I started with photography 3 months ago

 

[feppe]

The biggest reason I crop is probably just to get rid of negative or wasted space. While a zoom lens can do the same, sometimes I don't know what will look better until I see it on a monitor. I'd rather have too much than not enough. Once you take too much, you can't get it back(kinda like a haircut, LOL).

You have to be careful with framing by zooming, ,since it changes perspective which changes the message of the picture. Same with cropping, of course.