Cropping and Ordering Issue

TaraW

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I have a client that is not happy about the cropping of the photo that they are forced to make when ordering some prints. Of course the aspect is for an 8x12 because of the camera. That I cannot help. Should I have cropped it to an 8x10 ratio before showing them? If I did that, wouldnt it screw up other sizes to print?



Now I have an unhappy customer and Im not sure how to fix/help this issue. Am I doing something wrong in the editing/uploading process or is the client being a little too rigid with the fact that ALL images are going to have to be cropped at some point. A few of the ones they were complaining about was just cropping out a bit of sky or grass. Out of the 10 complaints, there are 2 that I think are legitimate to have issue with. I suppose in the future Im just going to have to shoot much looser, which I really hate to do. But anyways...any advice or thoughts? Im trying to figure out how to explain cropping to them and why it has to be done.
 
No, you should not have cropped it to 8x10. Then if they print them to 4x6 and they will see white borders! Just tell them the width and height ratio dont match and tell them to print them 8x12 instead. If they want 8x10 then it will be cropped. If you just send them to the lab, they will probably just crop some on top and bottom. If you dont want that then you should crop it your self and send them 4:5 aspect ratio photo file instead.
 
Ok, thats what I thought. Have you ever had this issue where people want the EXACT picture in the perfect crop they are looking for? Is this something that Im going to have to explain to people that...if you want a certain size, you might not get the picture you are looking at?

I explained the 8x12 size...which it does fit perfectly into, but they were upset that they would then have to cut it down to an 8x10.
 
Why are they mad? It's a simple matter of physics & math. 2:3 (4x6, 8x12) is not the same shape/ratio as 5x7 or 8x10 etc.

Of course, you could stretch the image to fit...thus distorting it. That might help them clue in. :er:
 
Haha!!! Honestly, the crops really arent even BAD. I mean...I can understand 2 of them but..I dont know. A little picky to me. Its just the way the picture is. I cant magically transform the aspect of it.

Other problem is that the client takes pictures of flowers and stuff and has ordered from the site and "never had this problem".
 
They probably have a point and shoot camera with 4:3 aspect ratio and they have printed 8x10 before. With 4:3 ratio sensor they only have to crop about .33 inches each side so you don't really see the difference. You just have to really explain it to them nicely. Preferably email so they understand.
 
Thanks for your help, guys! Its even harder dealing with clients that have "photography experience". ;)
 
For future reference, it's often a good idea to compose your photos with different crops in mind. That way, if you do have to crop to a 4:5 ratio, you don't have to chop off anything too important.

Also, there is the option of stretching the photo without distorting it. The latest versions of Photoshop have a feature called 'content aware stretch', which can help to add or subtract 'space' in an image, while keeping the important parts looking normal.
 
Oh reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally. Hm. I have CS5...ill look into that for this situation. I know now to loosen up my shots a little bit! Live and learn, I guess.
 
It's amazing the number of paid shooters that post in the Beginners Forum.

The Beginners Forum & Photo Gallery has turned into a big catch-all. ;)

One of CS5's biggest selling points was/is it's new 'Content-Aware Fill" feature. CS4 had it's predecessor: 'Content-Aware Scaling'.
 
I wasnt really sure where to post this and Im just starting out as a paid photographer.

I definitely have used Content Aware to fill things in or take out certain things. I didnt realize there was a stretch option though.
 
Don't you ask what the customer expects up front, and gear your shoot to their needs?
 
Of course I do. And they love all of the pictures I have to say. Its not that they are disappointed in the quality of the photographs. Some of the photos that they have issue with literally crops out a little bit of the sky or some grass. They want the entire picture that was SOOC in the print, which is impossible for me to do. Short of not taking any tightly framed pictures, Im not sure what else I could have done? Which obviously Im going to have to keep in mind.

Is that what you would do? Just be sure to not take tightly framed photos?
 
There are a few tips to help you take better pictures...
1.Pay attention to framing
2.Learn the Rule of Thirds
3.Every photo has a foreground and a background
4.Change your line of sight
5.Look for elements that lead the eyes through the photo
6.Keep your eyes open for patterns
7.Try getting in close
8.Cropping brings a photo to life.
Don't crop your only version of a photo. Always crop on a duplicate or copy.
http://sunshine-blogger40.blogspot.com/photography tips and techniques
 
Um...clearly you didnt read this?
 

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