How tight do you shoot?

Livin The Dream

Livin The Dream

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Kris
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I came a little unstuck recently when I had a client request multiple canvases (8 to be precise) to arrange in a collage for their stairwell. I realised that I shoot a bit too tight, with not much room to play with for allowing for the extra wrap on a canvas. With one in particular I did have to stretch the top a little but two were just too tight and so I had to compromise, hopefully they will look ok.

The other issue was that some of the selections they picked didn't really suit the layout they were after. Interested to know how you deal with this side of it. I haven't really had too much experience with the presentation side of things.
 
Livin The Dream said:
not much room to play with for allowing for the extra wrap on a canvas.
Click to expand...
OnOne's Perfect Photo Suite has a tool called Gallery Wrap
in their Resize app. I think that could be a perfect solution…

Gallery Wrap will extend the canvas to include the picture AND
the generated wrap width you will want. Here, the yellow lines
are only indicating the amount of canvas added to a picture.


GalleryWrap.jpg
 
Not trying to pee in your cornflakes, I've seen the results of this before and it often times looks odd - although you may not see the top of the canvas, it'd be a little weird to see some random hair that didn't connect to a head, or bit of an elbow on the side that isn't connected to anything... etc etc...

Personally, I'd try to make them all consistent so they look right hanging on the wall, and if all predominantly dark, make your extensions dark. And then remember not to shoot so tight for next time ;)
 
Kodiak Qc said:
OnOne's Perfect Photo Suite has a tool called Gallery Wrap
in their Resize app. I think that could be a perfect solution…

Gallery Wrap will extend the canvas to include the picture AND
the generated wrap width you will want. Here, the yellow lines
are only indicating the amount of canvas added to a picture.


GalleryWrap.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks K that looks easier than some of the PP I have had to do. Will check it out, it looks free at the moment and if it doesn't work then back to cloning.
 
Last edited:
sunnyside_up said:
Not trying to pee in your cornflakes, I've seen the results of this before and it often times looks odd - although you may not see the top of the canvas, it'd be a little weird to see some random hair that didn't connect to a head, or bit of an elbow on the side that isn't connected to anything... etc etc...

Personally, I'd try to make them all consistent so they look right hanging on the wall, and if all predominantly dark, make your extensions dark. And then remember not to shoot so tight for next time ;)
Click to expand...

Phil V said:
I've spent years trying to train myself to shoot looser, but I do still fall over when doing headshots.
Click to expand...

I've done a handful of canvases over the years and gotten away with it but this was one of the first jobs that I have charged for and typically they pick a wierd selection that doesn't really suit the format they want. Do you both do many canvases? Do you shoot with this in mind Beth? It kinda goes against my logic and would add another step in the workflow ie. cropping into every shot :eek:
 
I've come unstuck a few times by shooting tight and kick myself afterwards.
 
•

Another technique is the Stretch Wrap

Here the lines indicate the extended canvas,
the black frame is the BG of the app and the
white is the canvas that, for illustration purpo-
ses, I did not cover entirely.

This approach will not use the "inverse reflection"
shown before but a stretched area to cover the
wrap canvas.

Works ok at the top and right but is weirder on the
left


Stretch%20Wrap.jpg


​
As Phil-v comment suggested, it is almost always
better to have it SOOC!
 
Livin The Dream said:
I've done a handful of canvases over the years and gotten away with it but this was one of the first jobs that I have charged for and typically they pick a wierd selection that doesn't really suit the format they want. Do you both do many canvases? Do you shoot with this in mind Beth? It kinda goes against my logic and would add another step in the workflow ie. cropping into every shot :eek:
Click to expand...

I tend to shoot most things allowing some space, and crop in, as and when...But then I also tend to shoot a few different versions (when I can) of the same type of pose, or scene...(ie portrait, landscape, tight, wide etc...) I've been burned before by shooting too tight and many a time have had to extend backgrounds because of wanting a different crop ratio on their print or canvas then what I supplied. Might be another addition to your workflow, but it'll take you less time and headache in the long run... but that's just me and my opinion.
 
sunnyside_up said:
I tend to shoot most things allowing some space, and crop in, as and when...But then I also tend to shoot a few different versions (when I can) of the same type of pose, or scene...(ie portrait, landscape, tight, wide etc...) I've been burned before by shooting too tight and many a time have had to extend backgrounds because of wanting a different crop ratio on their print or canvas then what I supplied. Might be another addition to your workflow, but it'll take you less time and headache in the long run... but that's just me and my opinion.
Click to expand...

Ah but it's the opinion of someone that has done much more of this than myself so thank you. I shall have to consciously remind myself this in the future.
 
Phil V said:
I've spent years trying to train myself to shoot looser, but I do still fall over when doing headshots.
Click to expand...

Don't worry Phil. One day you'll remember that you're not still shooting headshots on fillum.

It just takes time.

Apparently.

Dan (13 years and counting ...)
 
Learned the hard way to shoot wider and crop to whatever ratio the client wants to pay for - rather than what I personally think looks best on the shoot.
 
juggler said:
I reckon.. canvases look better with perfectly plain sides. And almost any other form of print looks better than a canvas, but that's another discussion.

I suspect my subjects are a bit different to yours but a large part of my PP work is tidying up and extending backgrounds.
Click to expand...

I write for a living for a canvas company, so I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. :D
 
juggler said:
I reckon.. canvases look better with perfectly plain sides. And almost any other form of print looks better than a canvas, but that's another discussion.

I suspect my subjects are a bit different to yours but a large part of my PP work is tidying up and extending backgrounds.
Click to expand...

I kinda get what you say Simon, a quality print is of course much better. I haven't really delved into the myriad of papers that are out there, there are far too many. I did spend a good amount of time looking at Loxley and the dozens of others offering similar at this years Photography Show and still came away none the wiser. I actually had a canvas done off the back of a clients order which worked out as a freebie and decorates my office nicely. On the other walls I plan to have some framed work done a little at a time, possibly showing various finishes so that I show people various ideas.

I think your work would look better on better, premium papers. Canvas is the popular, relatively low cost choice for the children portraiture that I have been doing.
 
Livin The Dream said:
I kinda get what you say Simon, a quality print is of course much better. I haven't really delved into the myriad of papers that are out there, there are far too many. I did spend a good amount of time looking at Loxley and the dozens of others offering similar at this years Photography Show and still came away none the wiser. I actually had a canvas done off the back of a clients order which worked out as a freebie and decorates my office nicely. On the other walls I plan to have some framed work done a little at a time, possibly showing various finishes so that I show people various ideas.

I think your work would look better on better, premium papers. Canvas is the popular, relatively low cost choice for the children portraiture that I have been doing.
Click to expand...

I seem to remember that Dean once before provided a link a company - perhaps his - who did high quality canvases. I haven't seen one yet.
 
I guess most of us are guilty of shooting too tight at times if it isn't the intention to submit the image to a canvas.
I've only ever had two canvasses done and had to extend the border of the images on both occasions for the wrap. In my case it wasn't too difficult, both images were from a pebble feet series I done a few years ago, so inanimate objects which didn't look odd cloned on the edges of the frame.

I, like Simon, prefer prints but can also see the attraction in canvases as a finished item, no need for mounts or frames etc.

My recent portraits project I tend to shoot quite tight but leave enough around the subject that allows various crops away from the native 3x2.
 
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