Igor, I'm pretty much in the same boat - I almost exclusively shot shot
slides for enjoyment (and print film for work) and didn't have the luxury of
cropping except when making prints.
I totally agree with your comment - "trying to make the final framing while
you are shooting
encourages a more careful approach for each shot. It develops and improves
one's skill of creative viewing"
That's not to say don't crop. Cropping has improved alot of my images.
As has been stated in this thread - its the image you show that matters -
cropped or not.
Kenneth Waller
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/kennethwaller
----- Original Message -----
From: "Igor PDML-StR" <pdml...@komkon.org>
Subject: Re: Cropping
Having started photographing with a camera with a single fixed and
non-changable lens, I was forced to crop during printing (which I was
doing myself).
Then, when switched to slides (and a DSLR, albeit only with one "normal"
prime), I've learned to frame for the ultimate presentation. Using
commercial mini-labs for printing photos (when those became accessible for
me), reinforced that habit.
The era of digital photography (and the advances of digital printing) has
relaxed that requirement for me from two points of view:
1. I can do my own cropping on the computer, and
2. I can print color photos myself easily.
Now, I am forcing myself to frame a bit more loose. This is for the
reasons that Larry (and a few others) have explained: to make sure some
body parts are not cut off, and I have the room for horizon adjustment or
perspective correction).
It doesn't happen always: old habits are hard to break.
There is one more good reason for unavoidable cropping: when I am printing
photos, the formats I use the most are 5x7, 8.5x11 (Letter), sometimes 4x6
and 8x10. All those have a different aspect ratio. So, cropping from the
2x3 ratio sensor of Pentax DSLRs is unavoidable.
When photographing an event where I am expecting to post large quantity of
photos (e.g. kids events), I still try to frame to the ultimate
presentation, -- to minimize the work I need to do on the large volume of
photos.
But even when I do that, I frequently adjust the crop here and there, and
I also frequently crop to change the aspect ratio (e.g. to get 1:1).
Now, there is a merit behind the advice of people who categorically swear
against cropping: .
trying to make the final framing while you are shooting encourages a more
careful approach for each shot. It develops and improves one's skill of
creative viewing
So, the bottom line:
You should not listen to people who tell you should not do something "just
because". Always evaluate the merits.
Eric, in regards to cropping:
1. Try your best while framing to avoid cropping in post.
2. In post-production, - crop whatever is necessary. Pay attention to how
you are cropping (and more importantly why), - and use that as a feedback
for #1.
HTH,
Igor
Larry Colen Tue, 24 Jan 2017 14:05:53 -0800 wrote:
In theory, filling the frame with exactly what you need and not cropping
will give you the very best image possible. However, with my K-1, even if
I throw away half the area of the image, I'm still left with an 18MP APS
sized chunk of sensor that I can take from any place in the image.
If I am shooting a landscape, still life, or some other static image, I'll
do my best to frame things exactly. However, if I'm shooting dancing,
martial arts or some other very dynamic scene, I will often shoot loose
and crop tight. It is my experience that I lose far fewer photos from a
slight loss of resolution than I do because just as I pressed the trigger
someone stuck their hand, foot, or even their head outside of the frame
that I'm shooting.
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