Cropping - Need your thoughts

[BrentC]

Sometimes I have issues determining if I should crop a photo based on how most people are viewing the photo. This is more of an issue in macro but also for other images as well.
For example, photo #1, I like having the full leaf in the frame, gives more of a 'scene' to the photo. And on my big monitor I use for editing I can see the detail in the shadfly very well. But when I look at the photo on a small laptop monitor or phone it looks ok but I am missing the detail that you want to see in a macro type shot, the close up if you will. So I can crop it like #2 and now it looks great on the phone and I can see all the detail but I lose out a little on the 'scene' aspect.

The same would go for #3 if I decided to crop it.

What are your thoughts on this? When adjusting or cropping an image do you take into consideration how people are going to view it?

1.
Shadfly by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

2.
Shadfly - recrop by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

3.
Japanese beetle by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

 

[vintagesnaps]

I like the uncropped, very nice. How good can you expect it to be on a phone where it loses detail? Maybe a slight crop would be enough to make it look somewhat better without losing that much of the photo.

 

[BrentC]

I like the uncropped, very nice. How good can you expect it to be on a phone where it loses detail? Maybe a slight crop would be enough to make it look somewhat better without losing that much of the photo.

I really shouldn't say 'losing detail'. The detail is still there. Maybe its better saying that the subject gets lost, seems much smaller on smaller screens like small laptops and phones and easier to dismiss. And I think most people do their viewing on smaller screens. So the cropped version, with a very large subject, really pops on a small screen and grabs your attention.

 

[dennybeall]

For me the subject is the insect and I have no interest in the leaf so the second crop is better for me.
If the plant was the subject then I'd like the first shot so I could see the complete makeup of the leaf....

 

[BrentC]

For me the subject is the insect and I have no interest in the leaf so the second crop is better for me.
If the plant was the subject then I'd like the first shot so I could see the complete makeup of the leaf....

But is this always the case for you? I shoot a lot of wildlife and sometimes I like to have the subject full frame to show it off and sometimes a wider shot to also include the environment to give some context of where the subject was captured.
Also editing on a 25" monitor, even in wider shots, the subject still looks prominent. So that first shadfly image above looks very large and I get the bonus of seeing the detail very clearly and also in its environment. Its only when I go to a smaller display like my phone that I think to myself that I should have cropped it because it would have more impact.

I think I am having issues of how I see an image on the larger editing screen compared to a smaller viewing screen. This image here of a very small grasshopper I like very much because it shows the environment in which the grasshopper lives and on a large screen I can easily see the detail in the grasshopper. On a small screen not so much to the point that it gets kind of lost. Cropping it to just the flower and grasshopper would work much better for viewing on a phone for example.

Little green grasshopper - identify? by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

But I am not just having this conflict with macro shots. Too many times looking back on an image on my phone or 13" laptop I say to myself "I should have cropped this tighter". For example these two photos. I like the first one because once again I like to show the Heron in the environment I found him. But when I look at it on my phone I can't help but think I should crop it like the second image which works much better on a small display.

Great Blue Heron by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

Great Blue Heron - recrop by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

So I don't know if I am, over all, not cropping tight enough in general in my photos to start with or letting how it looks on a smaller display influence me too much. Since my viewing of my photos tend to be on a smaller screen and I believe that most people view on smaller screens should I edit for that? I guess I could edit for both.

 

[dennybeall]

My experience in forensics agrees with your need to show the area. We always took as wide a shot as possible and then took closer and closer shots to capture the subject(s).
In your case I would suggest continuing taking the shots as you like. THEN for those other uses you can crop and make copies. You could make portrait crops and or landscape crops.
My personal workflow usually is take photos in raw (or high quality jpg) and save in tiff after any PS work. I make copies 2 or 3 times for various size pics and don't usually keep those copies in file.

 

[rosh4u]

Cropping image is not a good idea as the details of the image in the first image which includes leaf should not be cropped as it is giving elegant appearance to the image. There can be a situation where little edge crop can be enough where photo will not be affected at much. So I would prefer not to crop the image.

 

[SquarePeg]

I understand your dilemma and there is no easy solution. When I'm viewing other people's pics I'm usually on my phone or tablet. With my own pics, I crop for my vision of the shot while editing on a large screen monitor. I post the full shot on Flickr and sometimes on Facebook if it's relevant to any of my groups. If I'm sharing it on Instagram I almost always crop in a bit more on the subject unless it's a landscape and needs to be viewed as is.

When viewing other people's work, if I see something I really like on my phone I'll make a point to go back and view it again on the big screen later. Also if someone asks for critique I won't normally do it if I'm only on my phone.

 

[Derrel]

Yup! In situ versus close-up and isolated for impact when seen at small sizes...very common issue, and there is no set answer. On my iMac, I prefer the in situ shot of the insect...on a small iPhone screen, the cropped in version would have greater impact at such a small screen size. So, the preferred iamge crop depends on the final expected viewing environment.

 

[zombiesniper]

I never crop for different viewing devices. I crop for how I want the image to look.

I make the assumption that if someone is viewing on a phone and wants to see detail they will zoom in. If not, it's their loss. My crop/detail level is usually dictated by where it is stored ei. Flickr, Facebook etc. instead of what someone views it on.

 

[astroNikon]

If I was writing a book/website about bugs I'd have a cropped version to show all the details, and maybe one further out showing the entire body and length.

If I'm doing one artistically then I'd be more careful on the entire background, etc. Hopefully getting it in the exact situation/scene optimal for what I want. Otherwise you hope to OOF the misc stuff.

Then you add the device someone may view it on.
So the answer varies depending upon how you want it viewed, much less on what device is is viewed on.

If you are printing it on 8x10 you see much more details than if on a 3x5, so you may vary that crop too.

 

[fmw]

Sometimes I have issues determining if I should crop a photo based on how most people are viewing the photo. This is more of an issue in macro but also for other images as well.
For example, photo #1, I like having the full leaf in the frame, gives more of a 'scene' to the photo. And on my big monitor I use for editing I can see the detail in the shadfly very well. But when I look at the photo on a small laptop monitor or phone it looks ok but I am missing the detail that you want to see in a macro type shot, the close up if you will. So I can crop it like #2 and now it looks great on the phone and I can see all the detail but I lose out a little on the 'scene' aspect.

The same would go for #3 if I decided to crop it.

What are your thoughts on this? When adjusting or cropping an image do you take into consideration how people are going to view it?

1.
Shadfly by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

2.
Shadfly - recrop by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

3.
Japanese beetle by Brent Cameron, on Flickr

#1 is a better composition. #2 is ove-rcropped. #3 needs cropping.

 

[BrentC]

Thanks all for your opinions and thoughts. I will continue to edit as I want and in certain cases have a second edit with tighter crop.

 

[BrentC]

#1 is a better composition. #2 is ove-rcropped. #3 needs cropping.

#2 is only to show the detail of the insect itself. When it comes to macro and insects some people like having good composition while other just want a detailed shot of the insect. This is just a detail shot.

I quite like #3 as is. I tried cropping but I feel the image loses something when I don't have the full length of the grass bridge. Just didn't look right.

 

[limr]

I never crop for different viewing devices. I crop for how I want the image to look.

I make the assumption that if someone is viewing on a phone and wants to see detail they will zoom in. If not, it's their loss. My crop/detail level is usually dictated by where it is stored ei. Flickr, Facebook etc. instead of what someone views it on.

This ^^

And to some extent, this too:

If I was writing a book/website about bugs I'd have a cropped version to show all the details, and maybe one further out showing the entire body and length.

If I'm doing one artistically then I'd be more careful on the entire background, etc. Hopefully getting it in the exact situation/scene optimal for what I want. Otherwise you hope to OOF the misc stuff.

Then you add the device someone may view it on.
So the answer varies depending upon how you want it viewed, much less on what device is is viewed on.

If you are printing it on 8x10 you see much more details than if on a 3x5, so you may vary that crop too.

If I am posting on the web, I don't really care how a person is viewing it. I have edited the image to look the way I imagined it or to tell the story I want to tell. I can't control how people are going to view my electronic image online, so I don't even take it into consideration when I am working on what I want my image to look like.

If I'm going to print the image, then I take into consideration how people will view it because that is under my control. People won't have a choice of viewing media: they will see one print, and I want to make sure they see what I want them to see.

So if I determine that the subject needs more context (what you called 'scene') then I will plan to print bigger to make sure the subject doesn't get too lost. If context is less important, I can crop more tightly to make sure the subject gets it proper attention.

But on the Internet? Nope. Way too many variables for me to think about, and allowing all that clutter in my head while editing just ends up interfering with the ability to make editing judgments or keep my own vision in mind. Ain't nobody got time for that