Crop It?

[Richard]

Do you usually shoot with space around the photo so that you can print in different aspect ratios? I have been trying to shoot with the mind set that I won't have to do much post-processing. I don't usually print my work so the 4x6 aspect ratio is fine, but I just made some prints of some photos I took recently and now I am finding out that my great composition is getting ruined when I want to print a different ratio.

 

[elsaspet]

Yes, I always "save" an 8x10 crop. It's the most severe. Leave a few inches either way, and you can crop to this.

 

[usayit]

8x10 is actually a cropped print of 8x12... meaning.. if you order an 8x10 print from the lab, you are actually requesting an 8x12 with a crop to 8x10.

I usually don't concern myself with aspect ratio... you can always cut or have custom made matts.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

Richard....Kinda' depends on your needs. I shoot horse events and am frequently asked for a 4x6 and a 5x7 and a 8x10 of the same shot. The 4x6/5x7 combo being the most common.

To prevent extra work, I crop for the 4x6 first (1.5 aspect ratio) and then the 5x7 (1.4 aspect ratio). After printing, I keep the 4x6 crop for reorders. If you have to use a vertical crop, that can get a bit tricky if you haven't anticipated this happening.

Of course, shooting in RAW gives you more "cropping latitude".

 

[RyanLilly]

Who are you printing them for? I just had one photo, printed and I don't think I am happy with the 8x10 crop, I will probably have an 8x12 made because the full frame looks much better. I don't mind an 8x12 size, actually I kind of like it, but I guess that depends on who the photo is for.

Who decided that an 8x10 should be the standard anyway?

 

[Jon, The Elder]

Who decided that an 8x10 should be the standard anyway?

It all happened a long time before you were conceived. Large format film cameras were using 8x10 and 8x12 sheet film. That size became the standard "Glossy eight-by-ten" that people used for many purposes.
You can get 2 4x6's from one size and 2 5x7 from the other. It goes on and on the more you look into it. American standards dominated because of Mr. Eastmans marketing efforts.

As strip film came into use, things got even more interesting.

Go here for todays standards:
http://www.clearbags.com/?photos%7Cindex

 

[RyanLilly]

Yeah I figured It was because of some standard from long ago. Ironically, my father worked for Mr. Eastman for years, Kodak just sold his devision actually. Not that it has much to do with his devision but, The film market has dried up considerably, with recent digital advances.