Cropping your images

Wheel and Shovel. Nederland, Colorado, 2013

Some people take pride in never cropping their images in post-processing. “I get it right the first time, in the camera, at capture,” they will say. If that is your philosophy, that’s fine. Tweech hiz-own. I, personally, see nothing wrong with cropping–I see it as part of the normal creative process of finishing an image. I don’t always crop, but I do it frequently and have no moral reservations whatsoever in doing so.

(In my today’s example image above, I should have captured a few frames from farther back to include more of this scene. That would have allowed me more final options in terms of composition whilst wielding that crafty little crop tool.)

In case you are on the fence on this subject, here are some things you might consider…

Why crop?

–First, sometimes you don’t “see” the best possible final composition until you are working on the image in post-processing.

–All subjects do not always fall easily into the dimensions of your camera’s frame. My camera gives me an image at a 3:2 ratio, which is very common. But that may not be the best in certain situations.

–Some landscapes may look better as panoramas–say, a 4:1 ratio (40 inches wide by 10 inches tall, to give one of many possible dimensions). If your camera doesn’t do this internally, you’ll need to crop.

–Some subjects look best in a square crop. Again, if your camera doesn’t do this internally, you’ll need to do it yourself in post.

–Some architectural subjects require you to adjust the perspective in post-processing to avoid excessive, unwanted distortion of vertical and horizontal lines. Once you make those adjustments, you’ll likely need to crop slightly to finish the image.

–Have you ever had that perfect image up on the computer screen only to discover that you inadvertantly captured unwanted blobs, Bob, or bits of blab along an edge or in the background? If so, then you’ll understand the need to crop in order to save the picture. Sometimes just a very slight crop is all that is needed to eliminate a nasty distraction, like Uncle Billy Bob.

–Didn’t pay close attention when you placed the subject in your image? A crop can quickly put the subject exactly where you want it in the frame.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes I’ll deliberately leave some excess around the frame in the initial capture knowing that I’ll crop later in post (unlike in today’s image!). Why? Maybe because I want to think about the composition a bit more, maybe because I simply don’t have time when I click the shutter (street photography, for example), or maybe it is an architectural subject that will need perspective adjustment.

I find I tend to move in three directions with my crops…a 3:2 ratio (usually 18×12), a square crop (usually 12×12), or a 3:1 panorama (often 18×6). I do this to make the matting and framing easier and less costly. As I get more creative and competent, I’ll certainly start to vary my dimensions even more. In fact, there are some photographers who never use a consistent image size–they let the subject dictate the exact crop and it always varies. I can see their point.

Finally, consider shooting a subject in both portrait and landscape modes (vertical and horizontal). You may discover, upon further reflection, that you like the orientation that didn’t come naturally at capture. Also, you never know when someone will want one of your images for a book cover or magazine article–they’ll need a certain orientation with extra space to allow for title and text.

So, don’t necessarily hem and haw yourself in with artificial limitations (“I’ll never crop!”) unless you simply like playing that game. Consider it just another tool in your artistic, big, bulging bag o’ tricks.