Maintaining aspect ratios when cropping

[Stan Melrose]

Hi

An easy way to maintain the 3:4 ratio when cropping is to make up a 2 column table (I used Microsoft Excel to do mine).

In the first column I started at 300 pixels and increased in steps of 10 pixels up to 2500.

In the second column I calculated and wrote down the corresponding pixel value to produce a 3:4 rectangle.

Now when I have cropped a picture to get the effect I want I just have to look at the table for the nearest horizontal and vertical pixel values to adjust the cropped picture to the nearest corresponding 3:4 rectangle

If you are in the habit of converting all your pictures to a standard size, say 1200 by 1600 pixels, your cropped picture will always come right without any further adjustment.

Stan Melrose

[The Photo Tuell]

Uhh...yea you could do that...or you could just use a program that has the 'Maintain Aspect Ratio' option when cropping. Paint Shop Pro 8 makes cropping easy.

Why worry about getting the 3:4 ratio anyways, it's only good for viewing on the screen, not printing. Not all digital cameras start with 3:4 ratio, so they don't have any reason to 'maintain it'.

[john_houghton]

It is easy to crop to a particular aspect ratio. Use the rectangular marquee tool, which has a fixed aspect ratio option. Then Image->crop to crop the image to the selection.

John

[Leighow]

Stan Melrose wrote:

Now when I have cropped a picture to get the effect I want I just have to look at the table for the nearest horizontal and vertical pixel values to adjust the cropped picture to the nearest corresponding 3:4 rectangle

Stan Melrose


STAN

Are you saying that since your table has so many values, you simply stretch the cropped image a tad to fit your closest 3:4 fix? If so, that sounds OK to me. DOes it look OK too?

I make a lot of "photo-cards" and so far I have just croped to suit, and printed them 2 up on Epson's Premium Glossy Paper. But lately I have been thinking that I should start to crop "dead-on" to fill a folded 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of matte mounting paper "card" that I have so far been trimmimg by hand. I'm running a big cottage inmdustry here!

HOWIE

[Stan Melrose]

Hi Howie

I am quite new to the digital photo game and I was a bit embarrassed to see that more experienced respondents felt that the software should take care of the cropping ratios and that a table wasn't really necessary.

But, yes, if you crop an image as close as possible by eye to be a rectangle of the ratio you want and containing the essential aspect of the photo you want to preserve you can use a precalculated table to tweak each side the crop to be in the right proportion when you blow it up to the final size you want.

My table is in pixels and has approx 220 pairs of values
but it would work equally well in inches.

Hope this is of use to you.

Regards

Stan

[joshuaphoto]

Wow -- what an interesting read, and not so many years ago! I'm again reminded that when technology "baby-food" and/or power-tools weren't there yet, people were still figuring out ingenious ways of accomplishing their tasks. Kudos!

[gjl711]

...the software should take care of the cropping ratios and that a table wasn't really necessary....Yea, that pretty much says it all. These days just about every image processing/manipulating software has the ability to not only set the aspect ratio of the crop, but to automatically re-size as well. Its a simple process of sweeping out the crop you want with an aspect ratio and size set. Light room, DPP, photoshop have these for sure and I'm guessing all the others do as well.

[joshuaphoto]

Its a simple process of sweeping out the crop you want with an aspect ratio and size set. Light room, DPP, photoshop have these for sure and I'm guessing all the others do as well.

Even excellent freeware alternatives such as Picasa 3 (picasa.google.com) have both set sizes and custom cropping.

[SOK]

Stan,

Brilliant! Can I get a copy of this spreadsheet? I don't have the internet so can you drop it on a 3.5" disk and mail it to me?

[Miki G]

I'm curious. If I crop a picture (not maintaining it's aspect ratio), won't the resulting image be distorted if the printer software pulls & stretches the cropped image to fit its' (printer) aspect ratio?

[hollis_f]

Stan,

Brilliant! Can I get a copy of this spreadsheet? I don't have the internet so can you drop it on a 3.5" disk and mail it to me?

Surely you can generate it yourself, with your slide rule.

[400dabuser]

I tend to use "Content Aware" if I want to get rid of unsightly objects in my photos

[philwillmedia]

Stan,

Brilliant! Can I get a copy of this spreadsheet? I don't have the internet so can you drop it on a 3.5" disk and mail it to me?
just use your abacus

[philwillmedia]

umm...guys, we might have all been had.
The OP posted this in September 2003.
josuaphoto just revived an 8 year old thread.

[mrbubbles]

good find though. gave me a laugh lol.

[philwillmedia]

good find though. gave me a laugh lol.
hahaha...I had a bit of a chuckle myself when I realised.

[joshuaphoto]

good find though. gave me a laugh lol.

Haha, we can all learn something from history.... :cool:

[gjl711]

I didn't even notice that. :) This has to be one of the oldest zombie threads ever. :)

[tonylong]

I'm curious. If I crop a picture (not maintaining it's aspect ratio), won't the resulting image be distorted if the printer software pulls & stretches the cropped image to fit its' (printer) aspect ratio?

You don't have a smilie in your post -- sorry, but this thread has become a bit of a joke because it has been revived from '03 and has a strange idea that started it out. Are you asking a serious question here?

[joshuaphoto]

You don't have a smilie in your post -- sorry, but this thread has become a bit of a joke because it has been revived from '03 and has a strange idea that started it out. Are you asking a serious question here?

Ah, the dilemma of satire. (I presume!) :rolleyes: Miki G's comment brought me to a laugh in any case.

[tonylong]

Ah, the dilemma of satire. (I presume!) :rolleyes: Miki G's comment brought me to a laugh in any case.

Yeah, except it could be a serious question -- we get that type all the time here!

[SOK]

umm...guys, we might have all been had.
The OP posted this in September 2003.
josuaphoto just revived an 8 year old thread.

Eerrrr...glad someone realised eventually.

Not sure if those quoting my last post were laughing with me or at me, but I should clarify that my reference floppy disks was in jest when I saw the OP date...

[joshuaphoto]

Eerrrr...glad someone realised eventually.

Not sure if those quoting my last post were laughing with me or at me, but I should clarify that my reference floppy disks was in jest when I saw the OP date...

I love an expanded joke -- and we all love floppies -- I thought that was a great addition, sure to bring chuckles to whoever finds this thread :)

[philwillmedia]

...and we all love floppies...
I hate having a floppy

[SOK]

Especially a 3.5" one!