Crop = Crap.

[jwbryson1]

Don't crop in PP. Crop in camera. Otherwise, you produce crap.

 

[Big Mike]

Cropping will tend to enlarge flaws...so it would be better to work at eliminating those flaws, rather than removing the option of cropping IMO.

 

[kundalini]

Shoot slightly fat so that you can crop / adjust tilt in post. Otherwise, you're likely to have elements too close the edge of the frame, which looks like crap.

 

[tirediron]

What'chou' talkin' 'bout Willis???? Granted that you want to get in-camera framing as close as possible, but lots of times I don't know if the final product is going to be 4x5, 8x10, 11x14, web-only, or... I don't think it's fair to say that cropping = crap product.

 

[jwbryson1]

Cropping will tend to enlarge flaws...so it would be better to work at eliminating those flaws, rather than removing the option of cropping IMO.

^^^ This. Mikey = Boy Genius

 

[Derrel]

Don't crop in PP. Crop in camera. Otherwise, you produce crap.

Ummm, that seems a bit dogmatic...but it's the way I was taught "serious" photography back in the 1980's. Of course, this was from a mentor who liked knock-out borders around every enlargement...and preached a tripod and long exposure and f/16 whenever possible...all dogmatic concepts that I later abandoned.

Today's newer, higher MP cameras create some gorgeous files that can be cropped quite a bit and still make nice images.

I'm cropping more today that I ever have before!

 

[DGMPhotography]

I don't think that's entirely true. Cropping, I've found, is a very useful tool. If you don't have the focal length to zoom in, and got enough megapixels on your camera, you can crop in quite a bit without significant loss in image quality.

 

[DarkShadow]

When I could get 2 feet from a bird and fill the frame with a 300mm lens, then I can stop cropping. Until then its not an option not to crop. I have to build my own powerfull autofocus telescope F2.8 Nikon mount.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Don't crop in PP. Crop in camera. Otherwise, you produce crap.

Maybe you should use a bit more forethought when shooting. I for one print a lot of 8x10s, but amazingly, my camera isn't 4x5. Meanwhile, the images still look quite good. I also do a lot of 16x9 landscapes. Funny, but my sensor isn't 16x9, it's 2x3. Another thing I like to do is shoot at f/1.2 at night. This often means shooting "loose" so I can crop in later and still have adequate DOF on my subject. Granted, some times you just can't get in close enough and you have to crop, or you are moving fast in low light and need to use your most sensitive AF point, knowing you'll have to crop later. . . . . . . . .oftentimes an image just needs a bit of rotation to get the verticals or horizontals straight. That too is still cropping.

 

[480sparky]

Don't crop in PP. Crop in camera. ..........

How do I do that for both an 8x10 and a 5x7? Take two shots? 3 shots if I might need an 11x14?

What do I do if I want a 48" long panoramic?

 

[tirediron]

Don't crop in PP. Crop in camera. ..........

How do I do that for both an 8x10 and a 5x7? Take two shots? 3 shots if I might need an 11x14?

What do I do if I want a 48" long panoramic?

get a 6x17 back for your came... no wait, that doesn't work... get a 5.9x16 back?

 

[DarkShadow]

Wait I am so confused, is that the same as 1080P

 

[Ilovemycam]

Don't crop in PP. Crop in camera. Otherwise, you produce crap.

Yes...if you shoot staged shots like most of you do or are a wizard at street shooting.

For the rest of us, if a street shot is crap uncropped...you crop it to clean up the crap.

 

[table1349]

Don't crop in PP. Crop in camera. Otherwise, you produce crap.

Horse Apples! If you are producing crap with simple cropping in PP then your technique is Crap.

 

[jwbryson1]

Love the responses! I don't fully buy into my argument either, but I did post this to get people to think. Less cropping = more thinking upfront which likely produces better images.

Just my $0.02. YMMV.