How Often Do You Nail The Shot In-Camera?

InaGlo

InaGlo

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Glo
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This is something that bugs the hell out of me regarding my own images and I think if Im honest, I still struggle to 'see' my composition in the viewfinder.

Quick example of what I mean...
This is my last nails shot.
First is the incamera shot...which is pleasant enough.
Then comes the hefty crop which I think makes the shot more about the subject (nails) which is obviously what I was trying to convey (while also portraying a modern Geisha theme).

So, does anyone else feel like me, which is totally dissatisfied and a bit of a cheat when I have to crop to reframe & get what I want from a shot?

Obviously a grab shot is different, but if you have the correct lens/time to spend on a shot, do you still find yourself cropping in post-processing, or do you nail your shots incamera?
Do you think it actually matters at all whether you get your image incamera or pp?

If you have managed to follow my waffle, Id be interested to hear your thoughts...

1354-2-worked-on-TPF.jpg


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:thinking: I would say its something I am getting better at. When I first started I would just point and shoot and sort out later. These days, when possible, I try and take more time and get the composition right, and as such, do less cropping now than I used to, but I do still do it - ok, sometimes you cant compose exactly as you want, wrong lens, position, etc, but taking those factors out, I do feel I get it right more often, though I also sometimes think I have it right, then when looking at it several times on a screen, decide it could be much better and crop away.

Yes, there IS a satisfaction about getting it right in camera, but I wouldnt beat myself up for not doing, so I would have to advise you the same, try and do it, but dont worry if you dont ;)
 
I try and get composition and settings right in camera. It saves time later in post. Aside from fine art work I prefer to quickly process everything the same way in Lightroom and don't want to spend hours checking that each shot is good and doesn't need cropping. Your 2nd shot is better than the first. I think its only time and practice. If you can see that the crop is better you'll know to get something similar on the next shoot.
 
With many of my portrait shots I managed (with DD's advice) to get the set up right and now 95% of the images I take turn out ok for composition and exposure. Sometimes though I take another shot a little too soon after the previous and one of the slave flashes hasn't charged and so doesn't go off. I then use Photoshop to correct this.

As for non portrait work, I am shall we say... improving slightly! I do now consider composition when framing, and the camera has certainly come off Auto mode :) I also tend to check levels using the live view and compensate accordingly. I have also started using EV compensation to create some different effects etc.

Still so much to learn though, but slowly getting there.
 
Don't feel bad InaGlo as people have been cropping for years not only in digital but also in the wet environment too. I think photography has changed in the way we shoot, I would go out and take maybe 36 shots on a day out where as now I can go and take 500 shots a day and think nothing of it. Using raw slows me down a bit knowing I have to do more work but I think we are all not as critical in our photography as we used to be before digital.
 
I dont see that cropping a shot is a great crime, if a crime at all.
Ideally we all want to shoot what we see, but there are always some problems.
Most of us concentrate on the centre of the image and forget the rest.

How many times, especially when learning or using film, have you taken what you think is a great shot only to review it later (when it comes back from Boots) and think ... ahh there's a bit of air around that.
My 7 year old son is suffering from this problem at the moment and can't yet "see" it until much later. Its a learning thing.

Also there's a bit of latitude with the camera. The 20D only shows about 90% of the shot in the viewfinder so there was always some extra to live with.

The only real problem is when you've got the subject you want, but when you crop down to it there's not enough detail left.... bahh!


NB: Excellent shots BTW.
 
I feel exactly the way you do when I muck up the composition but I don't think cropping is bad unless as oldgit says you lose the detail. Cropping a lot does make you feel you mucked up the shot completely though.

What I started doing about 15 years ago with my film camera was to roughly sketch what I wanted first. Obviously not when out and about shooting here there and yon but when I had the time to do it. I started out with borders the right size on an A5 pad and just roughly drew what I wanted to get. Saved a lot on film and processing costs and I wasn't half as disappointed sitting in the pub round the corner from Boots!

It still doesn't stop me screwing up in other ways though:lol::lol:
 
Haven't photographers from the year dot been manipulating their images "out of camera" ie dodgeing, burning, cropping or god knows what else in the darkroom? So therefore isn't doing It In an image editing program just the modern equivalent of darkroom jiggery pokery? So yes It would be nice to nail every shot In camera, But it's never going to happen!
 
When I was using film I was taught that cropping is fine, when I was starting work photographing (reportage and gigs etc) I was told never to crop and to sort the image out in camera, so now I do both!

Cropping isn't a crime!

But having restrictions put on me did teach me to try and sort the image out beforehand.;)


Oh and there are quite a few famous images out there that are cropped! (jfk junior salute etc)
 
I wouldn't have cropped though the eyebrow Glo, probably a bit higher, but I like your first shot anyway. :shrug:

Largely shooting small birds and never being able to fill the frame enough - cropping is just a fact of life for me. It does have it's advantages though in that there's usually plenty of room to crop for the best composition.

When I'm shooting other subjects where I can fill the frame, then I do prefer to get it right in the viewfinder, but it's not something I'd agonize over if it needed cropping. ;)
 
With set-up work I tend not to have much that needs cropping more than a tidy-up or slight straighten, so with the end product in mind I'd have taken both shots here as full frame ones and then chosen the most appropriate later. You couldn't not have taken the 1st shot as it's so appealing

Funnily enough, when out & about with landscapes etc. I try even harder to get it right at the taking, so if I'm not totally sure of a shot, I'll just take plenty from slightly different angles and pick the better ones later. I find that a great venue and light can wow you into the wrong choices through enthusiasm at the time just getting the better of you, so I try to slow down and then still take loads
 
I would generally only do a slight crop to straighten a shot if its needed. Mostly though I wouldnt crop the shots and they are usually pretty much as standard out of the camera. I have absolutely no qualms cropping if/when its needed though. I dont feel its cheating in anyway. My 20d does 3:2 ratio, what if i want a shot in 2:1 or 1:1 is it cheating to get that shot because the manufacturers decided that 3:2 was going to be the standard ratio ?
 
I find I'm getting it right in the viewfinder most of the time and don't crop very often for composition. I do end up cropping a lot of shots because I had to rotate them to get the image straight!!
 
Thanks everyone.
I feel a bit more relaxed about it since some of you have shared how you deal with the cropping element of PP too. :thumbs:


Chuckurbarla said:
What I started doing about 15 years ago with my film camera was to roughly sketch what I wanted first. Obviously not when out and about shooting here there and yon but when I had the time to do it. I started out with borders the right size on an A5 pad and just roughly drew what I wanted to get.
Click to expand...
You know I actually did this a couple of times, and youve just reminded me how useful I found having my mood board & sketches to hand.
Think I might just go back to working with that.:D
 
RobertP said:
I do end up cropping a lot of shots because I had to rotate them to get the image straight!!
Click to expand...

oh yeah i can relate to that, i generally like to think i get the framing right in camera (or i certainly try to) as my concern with cropping is i am losing data that would otherwise go towards a good quality print, take your images above - potentially say 10meg of pixels giving a good body shot, or maybe 6m pixels for the tighter portrait - however if reframed in camera you have the 10m making up the portrait - depends what you want to do with the image later print wise but that could be an issue..

that said, both are great, but i prefer the tighter crop :d
 
Thanks Andy, :D

Tbh thats part of the initial reason that I started to get frustrated... because I do blow them up large and so was concerned about loss of pixels/quality.

Constantly faffing around with the composition in PP is what has lead to me feeling inadequate as a photographer.
I feel I should 'see' the shot from the off, especially when the whole scene is one of my creation (as above).

Its all well and good being able to create the right pic to share on a forum but in the real world, when youve hacked it to pieces, well it just wouldnt stand up would it! :shake:
 
nah dont beat yourself up over it - clearly there is a huge amount of talent there, and as already stated cropping is no crime
and if a cropped image blows up to the right size print with the right quality then there is still no issue.
one thing i have found helps over the years - just take loads and loads of shots... different angles, different zoom, different crops till you find the ones you like best, a bit of experience will help you have the confidence to go for the best shot first and maybe a few others just to be safe :)
 
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