To crop or not

[ladybelle2k]

Hi all,

This has had me stumped for quite some time and so I thought I'd just get it resolved in my own mind.

My question has to do with cropping on wedding photos. The original files are 11x17. If I crop to say an 8x10 size to get a better picture, get rid of distracting elements in a picture, etc. what do I do if the couple wants say a 4x6. If it's a tight crop then there really isn't any more room to crop additionally to get the 4x6 size right.

How does everyone handle this? On a lot of the crops I see, they don't really have a lot of room to allow for different sizes.

[tim]

The Canon cameras are 2x3, not 11x17. In this ratio I sell 6x4, 9x6, 12x8, 10x15, and 12x18. If they want another size I try and crop it, but sometimes I can't. That's why when I shoot group pictures I always leave some space at the ends of the photo - so I can make 8x10s easily enough.

[song4themoon]

I only crop if I have to order in another size (like 8x10 or 5x7)

[ladybelle2k]

ok I guess I'm really confused now. When I bring an image up in photoshop straight from the camera, the image size is approx. 11x17 at 180 resolution. If I would crop that picture to say 8x10 getting rid of extra junk, and then the customer looking at the 8x10 says they want a 4x6, then on resizing to 4x6 to keep it proportional I have 4.6 versus 4 and have to remove .6 of the picture. So what if there isn't enough room to cut off the .6?... Hope this all makes sense.

[ladybelle2k]

ok after re-reading the post from Tim I see what he is saying with regard to the sizes staying proportional. The only problem I see though is that a size like 9x6 or 12x8 are not typical frame sizes and when the customer frames then aren't they losing part of the picture?

[Toogy]

Like Tim, I leave everything in a 4x6 aspect ratio. If they want something different, then I worry about it.

[jfrancho]

ok after re-reading the post from Tim I see what he is saying with regard to the sizes staying proportional. The only problem I see though is that a size like 9x6 or 12x8 are not typical frame sizes and when the customer frames then aren't they losing part of the picture?They are going to los a bit from matting, but these mat sizes are still not that unusual - I've found all of these sizes in preloaded frames at my local camera store. They can also have them custom matted and framed. If I were the photographer, I'd be looking to tack that service on to the bill.

[buffalophotographer]

Just back up your images first and only use a copy so you do not have to worry about messing up the original.

[jamiewexler]

I sat in a session by high end photographer in Vegas who shoots digital but crops everything square. The reason...he sells the square matts and frames as well (at a hefty markup). Pretty smart business if you ask me!

[cdifoto]

I sat in a session by high end photographer in Vegas who shoots digital but crops everything square. The reason...he sells the square matts and frames as well (at a hefty markup). Pretty smart business if you ask me!

I dunno about square cropping but if I had a studio that's what I'd do...have a bunch of frames on display and markup heavily. ;)