Image Cropping Ratios

[Rob W.]

Hey all...

This is something that I have been debating over the past couple of weeks so I thought that I'd turn to FC for some answers (hopefully)...

I've been using a cropping ratio of 4.5:3, which includes the majority of the image (full frame).  I've been playing with using a 4:3 crop ratio which produces a tighter crop on the subject.

What do you guys use? 

Rob

[FotoDigiGraFx]

Partly, it's a matter of taste. Or, if the image is tightly framed in the viewfinder there may be no room to crop. Most standard print/paper sizes are 4x5, 8x10, 16x20, etc. With the advent of digital photography, and home printing, there is a movement towards the full frame prints, i.e., 8x12, 16x24, etc. So, what I'm trying to get at is that it really doesn't matter how tight, or loose, you crop. What really determines the crop is how much room you left in the frame to maintain the proportions you wish to print at.

[Rob W.]

So basically cropping just depends on what you want to do with that image...

So...

Which crop holds more information, and therefore, higher image quality?  That of 4.5:3 or 4:3?

Rob

[GeoffS]

I don't know if this is an answer to your question, but I don't commit to a crop until the very last step in processing. 

I've doing all my dimension-independent adjustments (color, contrast, curves, etc.) at full-frame and saving the result in some high-quality format (ex. Photoshop PSD).  That gives me the flexibility to crop/scale/sharpen however a client wants.

Most often these days my initial cropping is either 4:3 so I can scale down to 1280x960 for full-size display on my computer screen/projector, and/or to 8.5x11 for a full-bleed print on my ink-jet.

Cheers,

Geoff S.

[Rotorblades.US]

I typically crop 3:2 (or 1.5:1) for my standard stuff.  But lately I've been liking 16:9 and 2:1.

[Rob W.]

I think the term I had been searching for regarding this topic was "aspect ratios."   

Rob

[GeoffS]

I typically crop 3:2 (or 1.5:1) for my standard stuff.  But lately I've been liking 16:9 and 2:1.

I have to admit that many aviation subjects seem to fill the "wide screen" ratios quite well.

Don't try sending anything like that to airliners.net though, it's a "very unusual width/height ratio" - they seem to like 4:3 and 3:2...

Cheers,

Geoff S.

[rdenham76]

I have been looking for info on cropping, and the ratios I need in order to print for a while; so this thread is a great resource.  My issue is that I have stayed away from home printing and just posted pictures in forums and online galleries; so even though I have had a digital camera for 3 years I never learned about how to crop pics in PH while maintaining printing appropriate proportions. 

I have had a request for photos from several people who would like to print them; I want to crop them for ascetics and resize them for marginal reproduction protection. 

When I crop in photo shop it allows me to crop vertically and horizontally at different rates.  With other photo programs I have used I could fix the ratio at which I cropped so when I cropped in one direction the other dimension would crop accordingly in order to maintain the original proportion; is there a way to do this with Photoshop?

[GeoffS]

When I crop in photo shop it allows me to crop vertically and horizontally at different rates.  With other photo programs I have used I could fix the ratio at which I cropped so when I cropped in one direction the other dimension would crop accordingly in order to maintain the original proportion; is there a way to do this with Photoshop?

There sure is.  In CS2, there should be a parameter bar at the top of the screen for the tool you've selected.  For the rectangular selector, it has a couple of modes in a drop-down list; the two I use are: Original (unconstrained) and Fixed Aspect-Ratio.  When you select the latter, two boxes appear on the bar, one each for the width and height.  Plunk whatever dimesions you want in there and the selection box will be constrained to the that aspect ratio.

Cheers,

Geoff S.

[bcradio]

One thing to keep in mind is framing prints.  Lots of 5x7 and 8x10 frames out there, but have not found many 8x12s. One downside of shooting full frame with my D70

[k5083]

For a decent print you would use a mat, though, and those can be cut to any size.  8x12 in a standard 12x16 frame looks pretty good. 

Personally I'm conservative, I try very hard to stick with 3:2.  A lot of aviation subjects are inherently horizontal and I feel they are hurt by the 4:3 TV/monitor/digicam aspect ratio.  16:9 or 2:1 might look even nicer but I feel that the world, like airliners.net, does not really accept those for anything that doesn't scream "panorama."

August