Best aspect ratio

[tecboy]

Which is why you should be the expert and the one that has made/or makes prints.
The average customer has no clue about aspect ratios, cropping, or the many other considerations related to of having prints made.

Are you suggesting I will make my own prints and send them to clients?

 

[The_Traveler]

Whatever you choose, but I would always give the client clear instructions in writing that:
1) I would rather print these myself to ensure quality
2) To make it as foolproof as possible, if you choose to get them printed at your own printer, I have enclosed images sized, labelled and with the color profile for the typical printer papers.
You can see how the images look here, and I can't be responsible for the quality of the final product once they leave my hands.

Minimize the chance of getting blamed for someone else's screw-up.

 

[KmH]

Are you suggesting I will make my own prints and send them to clients?

No. And yes.
". . . has made/or makes ... "
Has made = you send the image file to a print lab and the print lab makes the print.
But you need to know how the image file needs to be prepared so the print lab has the best chance of making a high quality print.
You cannot expect your customer to have that kind of expertise.

 

[bratkinson]

Being just an amateur, I shoot everything 'wide' as I wear my glasses while shooting. That then gives me all the latitude I need to crop the images to whatever print-size I wish. I actually create multiple sub-folders in my 'finished' folder of: as shot, cropped 4x6, cropped 5x7, cropped 8x10. I also create a 'low-res for emailing' folder as well. Other than the as-shot folder, not all pictures will be in every folder, primarily because I don't think they are 'worth it'.

What that does is to give my 'client' (I work for free) a choice of what size they may want to print the photos as. But it gives ME the choice of what is and is not in each photo. Obviously, images cropped for 5x7 will usually have more 'objects' in the image than 4x6, be it background 'stuff' or perhaps someone in the background or off to one side making a funny face. I also print the 'better' images on my own photo quality printer and give them to the 'clients' as well, albeit a non-professional Epson that uses water-based ink.

I think I'm 'covered' for just about any situation. If they like what I printed, they'll likely frame one or two and lose the rest. If they really want to print their own at the cropped sizes or larger, they have all they need to choose from...or, at least tell their 'print shop' people what to print.

 

[tecboy]

Are you suggesting I will make my own prints and send them to clients?

No. And yes.
". . . has made/or makes ... "
Has made = you send the image file to a print lab and the print lab makes the print.
But you need to know how the image file needs to be prepared so the print lab has the best chance of making a high quality print.
You cannot expect your customer to have that kind of expertise.

I've looked into bayphoto. They have a lot of different paper sizes and canvas materials. I have ordered from them several times, and they sent very professional quality photographs to my house. Ordering for clients is too complicated. Bayphoto has too many options.

 

[weepete]

Using standard aspect ratios can be quite useful. It can help with a subtle consistant feel to a body of work for example, if you only use a few different aspect ratios. It'll also have the added bonus of printing well. There's also some aspect ratios that work better depending on orientation. I don't usually like a 2x3 in portait orientation as I think it's a bit too long but a 3x4 or a 8x10 works much better in more spaces. At the extreme end 1x3 is normally a terrible choice but I'm quite partial to a 3x1. Though it totally depends on the purpose of the image and where it's going to end up.

I've been trying recently to get a bit more deliberate so I've been making more of an attempt to compose for the aspect ratio I'm going to use before I've taken the shot though it doesn't always quite work that way when I get the image into lightroom.

 

[The_Traveler]

There's also some aspect ratios that work better depending on orientation. I don't usually like a 2x3 in portait orientation as I think it's a bit too long but a 3x4 or a 8x10 works much better in more spaces.

I totally agree

At the extreme end 1x3 is normally a terrible choice but I'm quite partial to a 3x1.

I want people to look past the frame to the image. I believe that aspect ratios very different from what people are used to draw attention to their shape - exactly what I don't want.

Again, I agree, not necessarily with the 3 x 1 size but with the fact that the aspect ratio affects how people experience the image. A pano crop gives a specific impression. So I usually crop in ways that don't interfere with how people perceive the image ( except when I want to make a point with the crop.)