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Chuck Inglefield | profile | all galleries >> Pre 2/14/2007 Archive >> Other Stuff That Seemed Important at the Time >> Thoughts & Opinions >> thoughts on the art of photography >> Cropping tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Cropping

Oh man...do I even want to start this long discussion with myself about cropping? So many opinions and ideas have been written about the subject, maybe I'll just bullet point some thoughts I've had. This is such an important part of photography and I'm still learning how it works, but here's what I think so far.

- if it isn't helping the image, crop it out (and if you can't crop it out, clone it out, and if you can't crop it out or clone it out, then reshoot the image, and if you can't crop it out, clone it out or reshoot the image then just delete the file and move on)
- don't restrict yourself to using standard dimensions so that printing will be convenient, this can be very limiting
- panoramic crops of non-panoramic style subjects give a sense mystery to an image, and have an interesting cinematic effect....great for storytelling with the right image
- panoramic crops have a strong sense of continuity that the scene that will continue outside the edges of the image (very strong for images with patterns/lines)
- square crops require the same compositional rules as landscape/portrait images, and are very effective in simplifying a shot
- portrait orientations lend stature to the subject, are faster paced and less peaceful
- landscape orientations are more calming, peaceful and slower paced for storytelling
- square crops feel more neutral in stature/emotion/pace and lend more of this work to the subject rather than the crop - this must be why I like them so much
- square crops tend to feel flatter than other crops. By this I mean more 2D.
- cropping should be the first step of processing any image - preferrably in-camera, but always the first step out of the camera
In this portrait orientation, the gate seems to receive more stature in the image. The image is not as calm as the landscape orientation. And frankly, I don't particularly like the steps in the image here...so I cropped them out using the landscape orientation.
portrait		In this portrait orientation, the gate seems to receive more stature in the image. The image is not as calm as the landscape orientation. And frankly, I don't particularly like the steps in the image here...so I cropped them out using the landscape orientation.
In this landscape orientation, even though the gate fills more of the frame, it is not dominant as it is in the portrait orientation. In fact, I think the out of focus door in the background is playing a much bigger role in this image. Additionally, this image has a slower pace for me. By pace, I mean that I consider each detail a bit more...the lack of a definite emphasis on the gate (as is created by the portrait orientation) leads me to look a little deeper. This is not to say that portrait orientations aren't useful...they just have a different effect.
landscape		In this landscape orientation, even though the gate fills more of the frame, it is not dominant as it is in the portrait orientation. In fact, I think the out of focus door in the background is playing a much bigger role in this image. Additionally, this image has a slower pace for me. By pace, I mean that I consider each detail a bit more...the lack of a definite emphasis on the gate (as is created by the portrait orientation) leads me to look a little deeper. This is not to say that portrait orientations aren't useful...they just have a different effect.
The subject in this panoramic landscape has more stature than if it had just been a standard lanscape shot. By using my hands to create a standard landscape orientation it quickly becomes apparent that the image loses some of it's life. The pace seems to be much slower and even abrupt without the panorama. Here there is a flow, a continuity that is created because of the panorama.
panoramic landscape		The subject in this panoramic landscape has more stature than if it had just been a standard lanscape shot. By using my hands to create a standard landscape orientation it quickly becomes apparent that the image loses some of it's life. The pace seems to be much slower and even abrupt without the panorama. Here there is a flow, a continuity that is created because of the panorama.
If portrait orientations give stature to the subject, than panoramic portraits do the same thing but even more strongly. Here the ladder gains much more stature (even with it's small proportion) than it would in a standard portait. It is because it has room to grow, I think. The panorama again is giving much more drama and continuity to the image than would otherwise be possible with a standard crop.
panoramic portrait		If portrait orientations give stature to the subject, than panoramic portraits do the same thing but even more strongly. Here the ladder gains much more stature (even with it's small proportion) than it would in a standard portait. It is because it has room to grow, I think. The panorama again is giving much more drama and continuity to the image than would otherwise be possible with a standard crop.
The neutrality of the square crop is very evident in this image. It lends all of the development of stature and pace to the subject of the image. It is very documentary in style. And it easily gets rid of unwanted elements, allowing for simplification of the composition. Here also, the rule of thirds is seen (albeit not rigidly) to be effective, as it is in portrait and landscape images.
square		The neutrality of the square crop is very evident in this image. It lends all of the development of stature and pace to the subject of the image. It is very documentary in style. And it easily gets rid of unwanted elements, allowing for simplification of the composition. Here also, the rule of thirds is seen (albeit not rigidly) to be effective, as it is in portrait and landscape images.
Shot only a few seconds apart from the Car 2 shot below, this image has a totally different feel. The perspective is a little lower and the processing is different, but it's the same car on the same day in the same weather. I think the importance of cropping is very evident here. With the slightly panoramic landscape here, the sense of mystery is created and the processing finished the story. The darkened edges emphasize the effect of the vast space and continuity of darkness. Contrast this to the square crop below, which is much more documentary in style and the processing of the image was designed to serve that purpose.
Car 1		Shot only a few seconds apart from the Car 2 shot below, this image has a totally different feel. The perspective is a little lower and the processing is different, but it's the same car on the same day in the same weather. I think the importance of cropping is very evident here. With the slightly panoramic landscape here, the sense of mystery is created and the processing finished the story. The darkened edges emphasize the effect of the vast space and continuity of darkness.

Contrast this to the square crop below, which is much more documentary in style and the processing of the image was designed to serve that purpose.
This image doesn't feel quite as spacious as the Car 1 image. In fact, it feels boxed in...because it is. It isn't necessarily a good image, but it very clearly demonstrates the equal weight the square crop can offer to the subject matter of an image. Is the sky the subject, or the car? Is the gravel driveway more prominent than the sky? This square crop feels much more static than the image above.
Car 2		This image doesn't feel quite as spacious as the Car 1 image. In fact, it feels boxed in...because it is. It isn't necessarily a good image, but it very clearly demonstrates the equal weight the square crop can offer to the subject matter of an image. Is the sky the subject, or the car? Is the gravel driveway more prominent than the sky? This square crop feels much more static than the image above.

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Squared C07-Sep-2006 18:25
Thank you for the constant thought. You don't let me have a moment's peace with my photography and I find that refreshing! You do a wonderful service for those of us who sometimes feel "stuck" (and don't we all at some point?)
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