Cropping

S

Skypilot

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Is it important/useful to keep to some sort of ratio when cropping?

I tend to just compose by eye to what I think look best.
But when I open the crop tool the software will suggest several ratio options if I want to use them.

I'm wondering if I'm losing something by having all different shapes and sizes on my finished shots?
 
Whatever looks best for you. The crop templates are handy but you can pick your own crop ratios.
 
Cropping is a useful compositional tool and as @Kiwi Paul says use either preset ratio or unlock 'freehand' to select one that 'looks right to you'. Afteral, most photography is about pleasing yourself!

Having said that the "rule of thirds" and "Golden Ratio/Circle" have not been discerned for centuries without reason ;)
 
sirch said:
If you are going to print then it can be easier/cheaper to stick to standard formats or crop for specific common paper sizes but it is not essential
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(y)

Plus, it would avoid the sort of question I have seen a goodly number of times over the years of...................."I cannot fit my photo on the (name your paper size?) as I can only get irregular borders....." or "why does my picture get cropped by the printing company when I want a 10 x 8 print......" And other along similar lines, that is why using a 'normal' ratio crop choice is beneficial i.e. if you intend to print, stick standard crops unless you are happy to have irregular borders or odd printing crops???
 
As above, if the end use is a print, I'll crop to the print size, Screen use is a bit freer, although I tend to stick with the "as shot" aspect ratio (usually 3x2).
 
I used to crop hap-hazardously to get the composition I liked. But I found when printing it was a bit of a pita. Now I use 3:2 ratio.
 
I tend to use the standard Fuji ratio, which I think is 3:2, and then 16:9 for some stuff, and rarely 2.35:1 (for a cinematic look).
 
Skypilot said:
Is it important/useful to keep to some sort of ratio when cropping?
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In my opinion: no.

The important thing is to make the image show what you want the viewers to see.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
In my opinion: no.

The important thing is to make the image show what you want the viewers to see.
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Back in the day, when I shot almost exclusively slide film I would mask up & (re)mount my slides for projected competitions.

Fast forward to 'nowadays' and I tend to use 3:2 ratio crops because that suits most of my prints......as a consequence what I post online is same ratio.

But yes, as photographers we have free reign to crop how we see fit for either personal preferences and/or artistic intent. NB it needs to be done carefully, as I and others have said, if your intended output are prints!
 
Skypilot said:
Is it important/useful to keep to some sort of ratio when cropping?

I tend to just compose by eye to what I think look best.
But when I open the crop tool the software will suggest several ratio options if I want to use them.

I'm wondering if I'm losing something by having all different shapes and sizes on my finished shots?
Click to expand...
It all depends on how the finished photos are being displayed, IMO.

If they are to be seen individually then it makes no odds, so crop to taste.

If they are to be put together in a slideshow type presentation then using one aspect ratio can look better.

If putting a photo book together then one aspect ratio for landscape orientation and one for portrait will looks good, or a max of four aspect ratios, but having too many variations can look messy.
 
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