Cropping-Framing In Camera or in PP?

What is your preference, Cropping-Framing in camera or doing it in Post Production. What are the benefits and hinderances of these two approaches?

I'll give you my 2 cents worth, after hearing your input.

Ben

 

I always try to get the cropping /framing right at the time of shooting. It saves time later on.
However there are occasions where it's impossible due to items that cannot be moved or something suddenly appearing at the edge of the frame like someone walking in front of you. Sometimes you don't get a second chance for a shot so have to make do with what you have.
In those cases, post processing is where the cropping is done but for all my shots i do my best to get it right to avoid that need.

 

That's what an SLR is for IMO. You see what you get so as much as possible I try and crop the shot in the viewfinder before clicking. However if I notice after that there are problems like above I'll crop out.

The other reason for post processing is non 3:2 ratios. Say if you want a creatively wide or tall shot.

 

It really depends on the subject you are shooting.

For example if I'm shooting portraits I might already have decided that I want 10x8s. So I'll need to leave space around the subject in order to achieve this. I will therefore shoot with a little space on the appropriate axis.

For other subjects like landscape or commercial work I'll frame in-camera and hope to leave it that way.

 

Like JD said, it's all about the intended output.

 

All the obvious stuff above plus - personally - I hate the 3:2 aspect ratio, especially for portraits.

 

PP because I hate standing around looking at the back of a camera. I have mine set up to show the histograms to make sure I'm not blowing anything so after that I'm on to the next shot.

 

sorry to hijack the thread topic, but could Mike explain this histogram function and its use..... i have a D80 and have noticed this function and wondered what its practical use was.

i use Paint Shop Pro usually to crop my shots by the way... mainly because i like to view all my photos on my PC before i do anything. Only because its easier on a 19" monitor than a 2" LCD.

 

Google is your friend: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml

 

Always in frame as much as possible. Really the only time I crop is to remove distracting elements that couldn't be removed by recomposing (for instance not a long enough focal length or something distracting in the scene). The other time I crop is if I want the picture to be anything but 3:2 ratio, square format for instance or a panorama type crop.

 

Dont you have to crop if you want a short focal-length shot, but cant get close enough to the subject to get the right framing?

I usually have to do cropping in all my images.

RedDevilUK: Read the Nikon booklet cover-to-cover. It sounds corny, but Nikon does a great job in not only describing wat all the knobs and features do, but how they apply to photography.

 

If I shoot extremely wide-angle (such as interior architecture) then I compose the shot even wider so I can correct for barrel distortion and key-stoning on my computer. Usually I correct in Photoshop, but then have to crop a small amount due to uneven edges resulting from the corrections.

Otherwise I enjoy composing in the camera.