In many posts here, and in other boards I frequent, there are frequent comments to crop an image to improve (or change) composition. I do it, from time to time, and I imagine most everyone else here does it as well.
I attended a book signing event where the author, also a well known professional photographer, was talking about his book and giving various tips on photography. He admitted that he does crop, but rarely. His intent was always to get the correct composition so he didn't have to crop. Reasoning is that once you crop and make the pic smaller, it makes it harder to make a large print due to the pic's reduced size after cropping. If properly composed and left full size, the large prints come out clearer, etc. For web use, a cropped image is no big deal because the pics are pretty small. But, if you had a pic you really liked and wanted to print it in a fairly large size, cropping before printing could result in a less than ideal print.
Anyway...all of this is leading up to why we crop.
Let's discuss.
I make an effort not to crop based on that photog's advice and reasoning. But, once in a while it turns out I can't quite get the composition I want, so then I crop.
In portrait work it really does depend on whats being asked for. If you're working on a model's portfolio, sometimes they want it in 3:2 format, sometimes they want it in different formats...
so if you compose for your camera at shooting time and was quite close (in my case a canon DSLR) it gives a 3:2 ratio. If I then need to give it to a model who wants it in 2:1 format, then I'd have to crop in. But wait, if I do that, i've just amputeted her hand, or leg or head. I suppose I could increase the canvas size but then i'd have to duplicate background
Also I imagine its the same if you're shooting for publication, they may give a photographer a brief and need to fill 5 pages. Lets say they have 2 full page shots, a few half page, and others of varying sizes. You'd almost definately have to crop in for this
I rarely ever crop. I try to do it in camera, unless I can't. But mine also is mainly for printing purposes. if someone does need it a certain ratio or for printing, I will crop if need be.
I nearly always crop as most of my shots are street shots and I don't usually have the the option to plan out the entire background. Sometimes I find the whole meaning or feeling of the image can be changed with a judicious crop, and at the very least a cleaner, less noisy image results. That said, I've not printed a picture I've taken since getting a digital camera so haven't had to contend with the reduced quality issue.
I have cropped and printed and been satisfied. You do lessen your photo size, but I so enjoy a square format on many photos for this project, and well my camera just does not take a square format.
Also not being a professional I still need to work on perfect framing. Also remember most view finders only show between 90-93% of the image that is being taken.
@brumbe Paula's right. Unless you have a very high end camera, most DSLR's don't have 100% view finders.
In my first photography class, one of the first lessons we did was "fill the viewfinder". Most beginners have to be taught to look at the whole viewfinder as a canvas, rather than just pointing and shooting at an object that interests them. Be aware and intentional with your viewfinder and you'll crop a lot less!
Cropping's not wrong. @toast@rich57 Weng & Richard gave perfectly good circumstances for cropping. Just don't let it be because you're too lazy to think about composition inside the viewfinder. Let it challenge you to be better!
My first DSLR was a 6 megapixel one, my second 10MP and my 60D now has 18MP. So when I crop now and leave just 1/3 remaining, it's still the max of my first one. Nikon anounced a 36MP camera. So, what is necessary for a good print? I did make wedding albums and never had problems with cropped photos.
How many of us print larger than A3 format? Okay, maybe on canvas. But canvas it both rough material and you look to it from a greater distance. I have a wonderful canvas 1 meter wide, shot with my 10MP camera. No problem at all! And for print: when you have 15MP, you can print 300dpi on 40x30cm (A3).
I usually only crop if I straightened the photo out or to get symmetry if I have vertical or horizontal lines near the edges of the photo. I used to love correcting and manipulating photos before I got into photography. Now I try to shoot stuff that I won't have to touch in the post-process.
Do you crop or not is basically a subset argument of "do you try to do everything in-camera or not"? Do you set your digital camera to "monochrome" mode or shoot in normal mode and convert to monochrome? Do you shoot RAW or JPG? Do you white balance on a grey card or other white balance tool?
It sometimes feel like these arguments are associated to being a purist or not. I can understand if your trying to handicap yourself to challenge your photographic ability but if you have the tools available to you, then use them.
In context to the argument of maximizing resolution for print, as @djepie mention, photographers have been making large prints from low resolution files for some time. And as @toast mention, the photographer may often want a different aspect ratio with the final image in which the camera doesn't provide.
One thing to add... when I'm making money on my photography, I'll err on the side of the money and shoot wider so I don't have to curse later when I realize I wish I had more space in my image. It's easy to crop and take things away. It's a huge pain to add.
I definitely try to follow the rule of thumb this professional did. I would rather compose the picture correctly because the clarity of the photo will not have to be compromised later. But every once in a while, I miss something or am forced to take something quickly and I have to crop the shot later. I think it really depends on the balance and focus of your shot as to whether you should crop or not. It's a good rule of thumb to try and shoot the picture in the best possible way first (sooc some might say) and avoid cropping.
I crop when I run out of zoom.... and there's just to much stuff that I didn't what in the pic. You could say, in that case I've already cropped the image i my mid while shooting the photo. Maybe when I do have an DSLR and some decent lenses that will allow me to get closer to the subject (when you're not able to approach by using your feet)
cartier bresson: never crop. if you haven't composed the photo properly in the frame, you've missed the decisive moment.
me: I try my best to minimize cropping. i find myself doing minor adjustments to straight photos and cut distracting things out of the edges of frames.
I saw a comment regarding purists and using tools available to you. I'm certainly no purist and will use a tool to help me along. But, I figure if the tool is already available in the camera, why use another tool to "fix" what I could have gotten right in the first place?
It's not unlike hanging a picture that requires 2 wall anchors. Would a person just screw in the wall anchors, hoping they were fairly close to being in the right place, and then fix them later? Or would you get out the tape measure, a level, all of the tools you would need in the beginning to do the job right in the first place and not have to fix it later? Might need to make small adjustments to the wire on the back of the picture, for example, but the main stuff is done and right.
It's more important to me to be out taking pictures, keeping workflow to a minimum and not spending additional time at the computer fixing things that can be done right in the beginning.
I like Jie Zhou's posting of Cartier Bresson's quote. Wish I could be that good, but we all need to crop sometimes.
And, it's true, there is nothing wrong with cropping, but I think it's something to do if necessary, not as a matter of routine.
Yeah, those partial viewfinders are tricky, that's for sure. I think I have mine figured out at last. The D300's viewfinder is 95%, as I recall. I just tend to compose tight knowing that there will be a bit more picture than I'm seeing and it usually works out.
Note that this discussion isn't so much about artistic interpretation (there are always reasons to do something outside the box) but more to do with a more straightforward shooting style.
Thanks everyone. Really great input and discussion.
I try not to crop if I can help it but there are moments I need to but I do try to keep it to a minimum. But then I've never been in a position where I thought "oops I need more space" as yet. So far this year my cropping has just been used to readjust the horizon but I'm working on getting that right too so I don't have to fix that either. Most of my editing is to work on the brightness as I always feel my pictures are dull so just tweaks here and there.
But really isn't it fun to have a blow out and just play about and do something completely out of the ordinary and if that means a major crop for a better image then go for it.
As for on the camera editing, I've never done that. Does that make your pics look better before uploading them? Need to give that a go.
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so if you compose for your camera at shooting time and was quite close (in my case a canon DSLR) it gives a 3:2 ratio. If I then need to give it to a model who wants it in 2:1 format, then I'd have to crop in. But wait, if I do that, i've just amputeted her hand, or leg or head. I suppose I could increase the canvas size but then i'd have to duplicate background
Also I imagine its the same if you're shooting for publication, they may give a photographer a brief and need to fill 5 pages. Lets say they have 2 full page shots, a few half page, and others of varying sizes. You'd almost definately have to crop in for this
Crop circles?
Also not being a professional I still need to work on perfect framing. Also remember most view finders only show between 90-93% of the image that is being taken.
In my first photography class, one of the first lessons we did was "fill the viewfinder". Most beginners have to be taught to look at the whole viewfinder as a canvas, rather than just pointing and shooting at an object that interests them. Be aware and intentional with your viewfinder and you'll crop a lot less!
Cropping's not wrong. @toast @rich57 Weng & Richard gave perfectly good circumstances for cropping. Just don't let it be because you're too lazy to think about composition inside the viewfinder. Let it challenge you to be better!
How many of us print larger than A3 format? Okay, maybe on canvas. But canvas it both rough material and you look to it from a greater distance. I have a wonderful canvas 1 meter wide, shot with my 10MP camera. No problem at all! And for print: when you have 15MP, you can print 300dpi on 40x30cm (A3).
I love to crop my photos.
It sometimes feel like these arguments are associated to being a purist or not. I can understand if your trying to handicap yourself to challenge your photographic ability but if you have the tools available to you, then use them.
In context to the argument of maximizing resolution for print, as @djepie mention, photographers have been making large prints from low resolution files for some time. And as @toast mention, the photographer may often want a different aspect ratio with the final image in which the camera doesn't provide.
One thing to add... when I'm making money on my photography, I'll err on the side of the money and shoot wider so I don't have to curse later when I realize I wish I had more space in my image. It's easy to crop and take things away. It's a huge pain to add.
me: I try my best to minimize cropping. i find myself doing minor adjustments to straight photos and cut distracting things out of the edges of frames.
farmer: i love my crops!
It's not unlike hanging a picture that requires 2 wall anchors. Would a person just screw in the wall anchors, hoping they were fairly close to being in the right place, and then fix them later? Or would you get out the tape measure, a level, all of the tools you would need in the beginning to do the job right in the first place and not have to fix it later? Might need to make small adjustments to the wire on the back of the picture, for example, but the main stuff is done and right.
It's more important to me to be out taking pictures, keeping workflow to a minimum and not spending additional time at the computer fixing things that can be done right in the beginning.
I like Jie Zhou's posting of Cartier Bresson's quote. Wish I could be that good, but we all need to crop sometimes.
And, it's true, there is nothing wrong with cropping, but I think it's something to do if necessary, not as a matter of routine.
Yeah, those partial viewfinders are tricky, that's for sure. I think I have mine figured out at last. The D300's viewfinder is 95%, as I recall. I just tend to compose tight knowing that there will be a bit more picture than I'm seeing and it usually works out.
Note that this discussion isn't so much about artistic interpretation (there are always reasons to do something outside the box) but more to do with a more straightforward shooting style.
Thanks everyone. Really great input and discussion.
But really isn't it fun to have a blow out and just play about and do something completely out of the ordinary and if that means a major crop for a better image then go for it.
As for on the camera editing, I've never done that. Does that make your pics look better before uploading them? Need to give that a go.