Strange Crops????

[smoke665]

Recently saw some wedding photos that were all cropped off kilter. The bride, the groom, even the family group shot were rotated and cropped anywhere from 20 to 45 degrees off vertical. The family on the left side was cropped at the knees while the family on the right had floor visible. Is this a new fad or was the couple hitting the wine to hard when they paid for the prints.

 

[Drive-By-Shooter]

having only been a spectator in but a few weddings in recent years, i have seen "artsy" angle shots from the photographer.
meanwhile, i've supplemented my gift with free pictures, which being traditional, have been appreciated.

for example, years ago, i shot b&w w/o flash while the hired gun shot away. recently visited for a high school graduation and guess which wedding pictures were displayed?

my guess is that this is a fad that will not stand the test of time

 

[Derrel]

Dutch Tilt, gone awry! Some people think it adds "dynamism". Lol. But seriously, many newbies think it looks "cool". Or that it makes people look "active". And, in all,total honesty, it can be very advantageous to tilt the camera 3,4,5,6,maybe even 10 degrees, in some types of portraiture, especially if there is not a readily-recognizable backdrop. Tilting the camera, or rotating the image in post and then cropping it, can, and will, add a feeling of visual tension, or movement, or strength/activity, to SOME shots. But on group shots? Uhhhhh...generally not a good idea.

I have taken many a studio shot, and rotated it a few degrees, and BAM! Instant improvement. Again, this tends to be almost invisible against say, canvas or seamless, or other smooth backgrounds.

 

[smoke665]

@Derrel I know nothing about the photographer but suspect she was relatively new at paid gigs. These were rotated post. The one with the group had 12 people, shot in a large gazebo that looked horrible. She took one where the bride was leaning back, being held by the groom, then rotated it to the point that it almost looked as if the bride was horizontal. Both bride and groom were chopped off at the waist. Again the client obviously liked them so I guess beauty (or ignorance) is in the eye of the beholder

 

[astroNikon]

Fad photography. I've liked *some* of the Dutch Tilt stuff I've seen but not much.

 

[greybeard]

I like to see a tilted shot from the reception as that is the way many of the participants are seeing things.....................lol. Tilting can enhance the feeling of fun or chaos in a couple of shots but, tilted shots of the formal groups? I don't think so. One of those effects that can be good as long as it isn't overdone.

 

[Designer]

.. (or ignorance) is in the eye of the beholder

 

[adamhiram]

When I was looking at wedding photographers about 6 years ago, that was a quick way to weed out about 3/4 of the ones we met - when every shot in the albums they brought were at dutch angles and they explained "it's a photojournalism style of shooting". I had hoped that "trend" would have died out by now!

 

[smoke665]

@adamhiram this was a photographer from way out in the sticks, so news and fads apparently takes awhile.

@Designer My comment about beauty/ignorance could apply equally to the client, photographer or me. Though at my age I'm moving into the realm of cantankerous and eccentric which gives me the latitude to speak my mind. ;-)

 

[Designer]

@Designer My comment about beauty/ignorance could apply equally to the client, photographer or me.

If the clients have no better sense of what a good photographer should give them, then they deserve what they get.

 

[dennybeall]

In my opinion photos should be correctly created and framed. If someone want to see weird angles and such those can be done with the display software or after the fact as an added feature.

 

[Bebulamar]

What do the people who paid the photographer thought of the pictures? I think that's the only thing that counts. What I think certainly doesn't count as I never hire a photographer.

 

[Designer]

What do the people who paid the photographer thought of the pictures? I think that's the only thing that counts. What I think certainly doesn't count as I never hire a photographer.

I disagree. The clients will be showing the photos to their friends and relatives, so there are lots more people involved.

Whether they like them as being the only thing that counts is also not true. Eventually the fad will fade, and the photographer may change his style, so what remains is a faddish artifact from days gone by.

If you have an opinion, it counts.

 

[smoke665]

guess which wedding pictures were displayed?

Fads come and go but class always lingers on.

I disagree. The clients will be showing the photos to their friends and relatives, so there are lots more people involved

So reading between the lines the photographer has a responsibility to the client and him/her self to guide the client. Obviously a responsible professional would shy away from taking vulgar or tasteless shots even if the client wanted it, so is this really any different.

 

[Desert Rose]

As a hired photographer you have a duty to provide shots your employer likes and those are not necessarily shots you like.
If they ask you to crop and rotate, you crop and rotate or refund and get a bad reputation, which would you do?