Educating clients on print size/ratio differences

I did a search but maybe I need different terms because I could find a thread. If there is one, please just point me there. Thanks

Here is my question. How do you educate clients about print sizes and how the 527 or 8x10 they want to order is going to look different than their 4x6 proof?

I am just trying to think ahead on how I want to do this. I am very visual so I thought I'd get a 4x6, 5x7, and 8x10 of the same shot as an illustration tool. Then find some what to show which sizes would correspond if the print were bigger. (ie the 20x30 print would crop the same as the 4x6).

Just curious how you all do it. Or is it not really a big concern?

Thanks

Print off the larger ratio photo with the smaller crop outlined in red. Best visual method I can think of.

Get a clear 4x6 sleeve and outline the 5x7 and 8x10 crops on it (maybe one on each side). Slip the photo in to illustrate the crop.

Luckless wrote in post #16045486
Print off the larger ratio photo with the smaller crop outlined in red. Best visual method I can think of.

jwhite65 wrote in post #16045548
Get a clear 4x6 sleeve and outline the 5x7 and 8x10 crops on it (maybe one on each side). Slip the photo in to illustrate the crop.

Is this what you do for your clients? Is it effective?

NewCreation wrote in post #16045925
Is this what you do for your clients? Is it effective?

it is effective for those that need it

if your images are shot loose enough, it's usually not an issue. it's only on the tight and/or odd shots that it's an issue. for instance a large group shot that should be printed at a pano ratio (20x10) that is going to be printed as an 11x14 or 5x7 is sometimes hard to explain without showing the client.

I don't have clients in photography, but have had to explain similar ideas to various people over the years. Visual methods that allow direct comparisons tend to work best in a lot of cases.

Another more complex option would be to make yourself a set of square rules, marked off so that you can show cropping of an image on the fly. Just use heavy card stock or something that is easy to work with. That way you can place a decent sized test image at the largest ratio on the table before the client/student, then use the card stock squares to mask the areas that would be lost for different cropping options. It not only allows you to demonstrate to them the various ratios but also allows you to show the effect of cropping smaller sections.

Going with the physical prop route means you have something for tactile learners as well as visual learners. You can do the same thing on a computer screen, but some elements may be harder to grasp for a given set of people with a different learning style.

skippix wrote in post #16046268
it is effective for those that need it

if your images are shot loose enough, it's usually not an issue. it's only on the tight and/or odd shots that it's an issue. for instance a large group shot that should be printed at a pano ratio (20x10) that is going to be printed as an 11x14 or 5x7 is sometimes hard to explain without showing the client.

Ha! I think sometimes that I'm the one that needs it most. Good point on the group shot. I will keep that in mind.

Luckless wrote in post #16046274
I don't have clients in photography, but have had to explain similar ideas to various people over the years. Visual methods that allow direct comparisons tend to work best in a lot of cases.

Another more complex option would be to make yourself a set of square rules, marked off so that you can show cropping of an image on the fly. Just use heavy card stock or something that is easy to work with. That way you can place a decent sized test image at the largest ratio on the table before the client/student, then use the card stock squares to mask the areas that would be lost for different cropping options. It not only allows you to demonstrate to them the various ratios but also allows you to show the effect of cropping smaller sections.

Going with the physical prop route means you have something for tactile learners as well as visual learners. You can do the same thing on a computer screen, but some elements may be harder to grasp for a given set of people with a different learning style.

Thanks. I'll definitely go with something physical. It just helps my puny brain, too. I'll have to really stretch my brain to translate your square rules idea into real life. If you had provided a picture, I would have gotten it a lot quicker. lol

On my wife's photography website (based on wordpress with woocommerce and nextgen plugins) I ended up building a customized preview gallery which allows customers to preview and alter the cropping as photos are being added to the shopping cart. It was a lot more complicated than I initially intended but it essentially uses a cropping api to define the intended crop region before adding the photo to the cart. The crop shape is based on the ratio of the selected photo size and the cropping coordinates are stored in the shopping cart.
In reality, few customers alter the default cropping guide for each image, but it does give them a visualisation of what they are likely to get.

Here is an example:
https://adoriaphotogra​phy.com.au …at-rhtc-expires-310712-2/

Note: for Intellectual property reasons I cannot provide the code, but am just sharing the idea here as an example of what could be possible.

IME, aspect ratio has rarely ever been an issue.....I usually don't even bring it up with customers unless it's somehow going to substantially impact the final product (which is almost never because I make it a point to shoot loose enough to crop to all common aspect ratios).

AdoriaPhotography wrote in post #16059234
On my wife's photography website (based on wordpress with woocommerce and nextgen plugins) I ended up building a customized preview gallery which allows customers to preview and alter the cropping as photos are being added to the shopping cart. It was a lot more complicated than I initially intended but it essentially uses a cropping api to define the intended crop region before adding the photo to the cart. The crop shape is based on the ratio of the selected photo size and the cropping coordinates are stored in the shopping cart.
In reality, few customers alter the default cropping guide for each image, but it does give them a visualisation of what they are likely to get.

Here is an example:
https://adoriaphotogra​phy.com.au …at-rhtc-expires-310712-2/

Note: for Intellectual property reasons I cannot provide the code, but am just sharing the idea here as an example of what could be possible.

That's pretty awesome! You could easily sell it.

jra wrote in post #16067761
IME, aspect ratio has rarely ever been an issue.....I usually don't even bring it up with customers unless it's somehow going to substantially impact the final product (which is almost never because I make it a point to shoot loose enough to crop to all common aspect ratios).

Thanks for the feedback. There are probably other things I should concern myself with before I worry too much about it.