Cropping

[Fiendish Astronaut]

How do people feel about this?

Personally I just hate it. I think that a picture should be what you composed when you took it. Not that I never crop - sometimes you just have to; but I always feel it shows that I got something wrong when I operated the shutter! I think to become a better photographer one should look to avoid using the crop tool as much as possible and concentrate on getting it right at the beginning!

Am I mad?

 

[Tiberius]

It's nearly essential most of the time. To print uncropped pics off my D50, I'd have to restrict myself to 4x6 and 8x12, neither of which is terribly popular. Cropping to make an 8x10 or 5x7 is more often needed, unless one wants to get into custom matting, which I don't.

 

[Fiendish Astronaut]

I suppose I've not considered printing - I usually keep all my images digital and rarely print. But then, knowing me, I'd probably just use a border...

 

[Tiberius]

Digitally, there's no reason to crop unless you want to. I keep my original image files archived and then create edited versions as necessary for printing, distribution, or whatever.

 

[logikal]

I sorta feel the same... a "picture should be what you composed when you took it"... but i have a problem when i want to print it... i compose the shot...love it.. but then go to print it and i have to cut parts of it off... ??!! how can i fix this? should i take a step back every time i want to take a picture, so that i have room to crop it for print sizes?? or custom matting?? or??

i'd love ANY and ALL advice.. thanx in advance!

amanda

 

[Tiberius]

You can increase the canvas size and add a black or white border to the image.

 

[markc]

I never let printing dictate ratio. 8x12 isn't common, but if my image is 2:3, I'll print it 8x12 and get a custom frame.

But I also don't let the 2:3 frame of my camera dictate my composition. Sometimes a scene just works better as a 4:5, square, or panoramic.

I do my best to compose the shot in camera, often with a specific crop in mind, but sometimes I'll see a better crop once I'm working on the image. I won't hesitate to use it. I personally think it's a little silly to let an arbitrary rule dictate how the image comes out. The final image suffers for it. Pressing the shutter is only one step in the process for me. I also think cropping is an important tool in teaching yourself to see as you get better and better at photography.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Since i've gotten my D70, It has been much easier for me to compose my shots over my FE because I can see the entire viewfinder when i have my eyeglasses on. My FE's viewfinder is ENORMOUS and unless i'm wearing contacts, I can't see the entire thing.

Thus, becuase I can compose easier, i've seen that i'm pumping out better shots more often.

Take these two shots of my dog for example. In my opinion, any sort of cropping would ruin them and when I eventually print either one, i'm going to keep the original ratio, the same ratio that is the size of the D70's CCD.

 

[Fiendish Astronaut]

Great shots too.

 

[rmh159]

While on one hand I do agree that cropping can / should be done in camera... in the end the only thing that matters is that final image. If I can make that final image better by cropping... I'd be a fool not to just because of my Photographer's Pride. Granted... anytime I crop like that I try to make a note of it and learn from the composition but I definitely wouldn't hesitate to make a picture look better by cropping it.

 

[oCyrus55]

If you start to rely on cropping, your eye will become lazy. By making sure you include, or not include, everything you want in the picture, you will strengthen your eye, and become a better photographer.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Cropping to me is just another tool, no different than dodging or burning, or some of the digital stuff I do nowadays. I will crop any image mercilessly to make sure I get it exactly the way I saw it in my mind's eye when I took it, or take it in a new direction as I'm making a print or working with it digitally. I don't do photography out of a need to create a documentary, to me it is a creative process. As such I will crop if I think it makes my final product better. I will however try and compose a good image as I take it simply because that's part of the creative process - just like I try to ge the right exposure to achieve the "right" image.

 

[D-50]

Personaly I find nothing wrong with cropping. I rarely use it to crop a person or object out of a scene, rather I use it to change the ratio of a shot. i do not find that 1:1.5 to be a very interesting print. I find I like a wider feel to my photos, especially landscapes, such as 1:2.5 or even a 1:3. Many of my final prints which hang in my house are roughly 6"x18", one being 10"x31". I do make my own frames though so I dont have the problem of finding a frame to fit an atypical ratio.

 

[ksmattfish]

If you ever get a chance to watch the documentary about action/war photographer James Natchwey check out what his printer says about photographers and their hang-ups about cropping. He comments that he's seen many a decent photograph that could be a great photograph with cropping, but that the photographers have pride issues about it to the detriment of their work.

I definately understand the incentive to crop in the camera for 35mm or DSLR. I try to do it myself, but it's no big deal if I do need to crop later. With medium and large format it's much less of an issue.

 

[markc]

That's a really cool flick.