cropping ratios

overthere

overthere

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are there certain ratios which are supposed to be used with cropping images??

or is it generally okay to crop to any ratio??

when i crop photos, i always keep the same ratio as the original image
as im never sure if the photo would work if i cropped it to how i want


for example

15q2kxx.jpg


in this image i posted on here once before
i was told that the gate in the top right is distracting

if i was to crop it down retaining the aspect ratio
it would be the yellow square
but some of the space around the car is lost


would it be acceptable to crop it to the blue lines say
which is just a general best-fit and follows no specific ratio or anything like that?


i think i might have asked a simple question in quite a complicated way but hopefully someone could shed some light?
 
There's no rules - it's really up to you. Personally I made the decision to limit myself to cropping on a 6x4 ratio to make printing easier but it doesn't really make any difference at the end of the day. I've found it a good discipline. Without using a "locked" ratio I found myself getting confused about where to draw the crop line - as you've found out yourself no doubt.
 
You don't have your edit box ticked but would you mind if I posted a couple of crop examples of your image?:thinking:
 
Bit limited as I didn't want to include the blue/tellow lines but here goes:

6 x 4:

15q2kxxa.jpg


Which I think is as dull as dish water!!

-----------------------

7 x 5:

15q2kxxb.jpg


Which I think is much better but still not quite!

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And finally a no restriction crop which for me is the pick of the bunch

15q2kxxc.jpg


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Others will prefer different crops but I think it's a good example of how a simple thing like a crop can make a pretty big difference to a picture.

I actually compose a shot through my view finder thinking what crop I will apply when I get the shot on my laptop........

.......i.e. "will I be able to get rid of that tree branch in the top right of my shot if I use a 6 x 4 crop when I come to edit it??"

Different shots require a different crops, just look at all the different ratios in film cameras!!

Some people see cropping as throwing away information, but I see it as an important part of creating a finished image.
 
There are no rules as such.... that said if your getting stuff printed outside you will probably need to crop to so called standard sizes (6x4 7x5 8x6 10x8 A4 etc) which can be a limiting factor creatively speaking. Some places will print non-standard sizes but it's usually more expensive.
 
overthere said:
or is it generally okay to crop to any ratio?
Click to expand...

I nearly always crop to 3:2 and have been doing so for a reason. I thought that keeping the standard ration would help me improve my in-camera composition so that I can see exactly where I am 'wasting pixels' each time I crop.

I think it's working... my last image posted on here is uncropped and unrotated. And I've had a few others lately too.
 
so lets say you have a range of images
would it generally be considered okay if theyre all different ratios?
like i would have thought that's too inconsistent??
 
What this guy said...

68lbs said:
I nearly always crop to 3:2 and have been doing so for a reason. I thought that keeping the standard ration would help me improve my in-camera composition so that I can see exactly where I am 'wasting pixels' each time I crop.
Click to expand...

Getting the composition right in your initial shot is important. When you take your shots you need to think about what's in your frame and if you can compose it without distracting bits in there.. With this type of photography you can take some time to think about it... Theres obviously some things you cant avoid sometimes but they can easily be removed from the shot.

I always keep the standard ratio because it works for what I do, and there will always be a consitency in my portfolio... If you're cropping shots differently each time I dont think it'll look as attractive on the web/print and to some extent, it wont look as 'professional.'

Some shots are made to be cropped though, so it'll work for some but I suggest keeping your images consistent.

All my opinion anyway.. I could be wrong...
 
As mentioned above.... There are NO rules.

Crop however you feel fit or however the shot beneifits from the crop but remember that if printing it will cost more to frame the shot if it is not to a standard crop. There are lots of companies that make frames and mounts to any size but it costs more than any standard ratio sized frame.

If you are only keeping the picture on your PC then I wouldnt worry about any standard crop ratio sizes.
 
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