Cropping ratios

skifurthur · 17th of December 2008 (Wed)

Pretty much most of the people who post in PA use a 4 x 6 crop for their photos. Early on I noticed that I tended to compose my shots naturally in a 4 x 5 ratio and went with that, not really noticing that I was going counter to the norm. Recently I have saved a bunch of shots that didn't work otherwise in a 1 x 1 crop ration and some of those are now stellar.

Why do you crop the way you do and why the resistance to alternate cropping ratios?

FlyingPhotog · 17th of December 2008 (Wed)

You can almost always get 4:5 out of 2:3 but vice versa can be tough if you shot specifically for 4:5.

I shoot 2:3 with some pad when able and then you do whatever you want with it.

One obstacle to "custom crops" is lack of off the shelf custom mattes and frames.

narlus · 17th of December 2008 (Wed)

i typically shoot w/o post-crop in mind, so most of the shots i keep in 2:3 ratio...lately i've been doing other crop ratios, though...sometimes a 4:5 or square works best. it really depends on the image.

johnstoy · 17th of December 2008 (Wed)

My first objective is keeping the *in camera* ratio of 2:3...Those I can crop further if needed, individually...

And 4:5, I reserve for printing enlargements, intended for framing in standard frame sizes... There are no standard 8x12 or 16x24 frames... and Custom frames in those dimensions start at $45 dollars and up, per frame...

Therefore, final prints; 8x10, 11 x 14's and 16x20's, are my choice for framing...

Dermit · 18th of December 2008 (Thu)

...and then there's the new content aware scaling in Photoshop CS4 which allows you to re-ratio the image by stretching the background without distorting the subjects. It actually works better than I expected it to and have already used it once in a real situation where I shot too tight and the customer wanted an 8x10.

narlus · 18th of December 2008 (Thu)

hmm...interesting feature. but not enough for me to spring the $ and move from CS 3

BeckyMax · 18th of December 2008 (Thu)

Cropping gives me a pita every time....if I crop to a 4x5, they want a 5x7. If I leave it at the 2:3 ratio, they want an 8x10. If I try to pad it, it seems like there is a ton of headroom and foreground so I tend to not pad enough. I guess more experience will be my only help.

londonblue007 · 18th of December 2008 (Thu)

I just got CS3, I'm staying with it for a while.

I frame in camera, then figure out the best crop in PP.

17th of December 2008 (Wed)	#1
skifurthur Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Living in his Nowhere Land Posts: 1,269 IMAGE EDITING OK	Cropping ratios Pretty much most of the people who post in PA use a 4 x 6 crop for their photos. Early on I noticed that I tended to compose my shots naturally in a 4 x 5 ratio and went with that, not really noticing that I was going counter to the norm. Recently I have saved a bunch of shots that didn't work otherwise in a 1 x 1 crop ration and some of those are now stellar. Why do you crop the way you do and why the resistance to alternate cropping ratios? __________________ www.amsaddler.com Capturing the passion of performance The "simple and sweet" equipment list: 40D, 7D, 300 f/2.8 IS L, 200mm f/2.0 IS L, 70-200 f/2.8 IS L MkII, 17-55 f/2.8 IS, Canon 1.4 extender

17th of December 2008 (Wed)	#2
FlyingPhotog Cream of the "Prop" Join Date: May 2007 Location: Probably Chasing Aircraft Posts: 57,027	Re: Cropping ratios You can almost always get 4:5 out of 2:3 but vice versa can be tough if you shot specifically for 4:5. I shoot 2:3 with some pad when able and then you do whatever you want with it. One obstacle to "custom crops" is lack of off the shelf custom mattes and frames. __________________ Jay Crosswind Images *Facebook Fan Page* "If you aren't getting extraordinary images from today's dSLRs, regardless of brand, it's not the camera!" - Bill Fortney, Nikon Corp.

17th of December 2008 (Wed)	#3
narlus Cream of the Crop Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Andover, MA Posts: 7,186	Re: Cropping ratios i typically shoot w/o post-crop in mind, so most of the shots i keep in 2:3 ratio...lately i've been doing other crop ratios, though...sometimes a 4:5 or square works best. it really depends on the image. __________________ www.tinnitus-photography.com Facebook link gear list

17th of December 2008 (Wed)	#4
johnstoy Cream of the Crop Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Poconos, PA USA Posts: 6,645	Re: Cropping ratios My first objective is keeping the in camera ratio of 2:3...Those I can crop further if needed, individually... And 4:5, I reserve for printing enlargements, intended for framing in standard frame sizes... There are no standard 8x12 or 16x24 frames... and Custom frames in those dimensions start at $45 dollars and up, per frame... Therefore, final prints; 8x10, 11 x 14's and 16x20's, are my choice for framing... __________________ John Stoy www.poconophotos.com My Gear List "Are you only Looking* or actually Seeing", from Microbiology 101.*

18th of December 2008 (Thu)	#5
Dermit Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Chandler, Arizona Posts: 1,727 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Cropping ratios ...and then there's the new content aware scaling in Photoshop CS4 which allows you to re-ratio the image by stretching the background without distorting the subjects. It actually works better than I expected it to and have already used it once in a real situation where I shot too tight and the customer wanted an 8x10. __________________ 5D, 5DmkII, 15mm, 16-35 f/2.8 II L, 70-200 f/2.8 L IS, 85 f/1.8, 580EX II, 580EX, 550EX, PW X 5, WL X1600 x 3 http://www.pixelcraftphoto.com

18th of December 2008 (Thu)	#6
narlus Cream of the Crop Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Andover, MA Posts: 7,186	Re: Cropping ratios hmm...interesting feature. but not enough for me to spring the $ and move from CS 3 __________________ www.tinnitus-photography.com Facebook link gear list

18th of December 2008 (Thu)	#7
BeckyMax Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Missouri Posts: 85 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Cropping ratios Cropping gives me a pita every time....if I crop to a 4x5, they want a 5x7. If I leave it at the 2:3 ratio, they want an 8x10. If I try to pad it, it seems like there is a ton of headroom and foreground so I tend to not pad enough. I guess more experience will be my only help. __________________ Canon 5d Tamron 28-75 2.8, Canon 85 1.8, Canon 70-200L F4 IS Canon 24-105L F4 IS 9 Silverlake backdrops and 4 Photogenic monolights

18th of December 2008 (Thu)	#8
londonblue007 Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 852 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Cropping ratios I just got CS3, I'm staying with it for a while. I frame in camera, then figure out the best crop in PP. __________________ Canon 50D; Battery Grip; Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8; Canon 50mm f/1.8; Canon 430 Speedlight; website Flickr Facebook philbondphotography@gmail.com

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