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View Full Version : Aspect Ratio Dilema...


Axton
10th of February 2008 (Sun), 23:26
My XTi images come out of the camera at a 2:3 ratio, which will easily give me printing ratios of 4x6, 8x12, 16x24, 20x30, and so on...

I do mainly portraits and try to compose well enough at the time of shooting to avoid cropping, which saves a lot of time.

Here's the issue - What if my client wants an 8x10 or 11x14, which are very common sizes and real easy to get precut mats & frames for? If the image is properly composed for a 2:3 ratio, and 8x10 would drastically alter the image: heads cut off, etc.

Do others leave a lot of room on the edges in case cropping has to occur? (to me this can ruin the composition if a tight crop is warranted).
Or, should I only advertise prints that correspond to a 2:3 ratio? I see over in the G&N forum that almost all the portrait images are in the 2:3 aspect ratio (I can't ask questions there yet, not enough posts).

How do you handle this if you are making different size prints for sale to your customers?

Howard Barlow
11th of February 2008 (Mon), 00:18
It's the age-old problem of the 35mm format. You have to learn to allow for room on top and/or bottom of the frame to be cropped out. Do not fill the frame.

Axton
11th of February 2008 (Mon), 00:30
It seems that way... The problem is that I proof the images at 4x6 for my clients and then they want an 8x10 or 11x14 and there's really no way to crop to that size without REALLY altering the photo...

Maybe I should proof at 4x5 and not even offer 4x6???

Damo77
11th of February 2008 (Mon), 00:41
Yes, I have the same problem when preparing web proofs for customers.

I've got around it (kinda) by preparing all web proofs at 8:11 ratio. Sounds weird, but that's half way between 4:6 (the longest print shape ie 4x6, 8x12) and 4:5 (the shortest ie 8x10, 16x20).

And yes, you need to shoot with a bit extra space around the subject. Cameras capture so many pixels these days, you can afford to zoom out slightly to avoid cropping issues later.

DocFrankenstein
11th of February 2008 (Mon), 01:11
This is why I like the square format so much. It's simple.

If I want to shoot digital for 4 by 5 ratio, I shoot one shot as a 2 by 3 and then another one for 4/5.

tim
11th of February 2008 (Mon), 02:09
Account for it when you're shooting, if an image doesn't suit the size ordered communicate this to the customer and suggest a more appropriate size.

tzalman
11th of February 2008 (Mon), 03:53
If you are shooting against a solid backdrop you can clone on some more space along one side. Clone up rather than cropping down.