Posted by Barry Southon on September 26, 2009 at 10:21 AM
To crop or not to Crop?
I'm trying to understand the Crop issues a little clearer is it personal preferences or clear lines that dictate a decision?
May I use a recent example of a group of grazing deer constantly moving but I saw a shot within the shot so to speak after the event. It required a drastic crop.
1D3 Canon 800mm on bean bag in a hide. 1/100sec F/16 ISO800 800mm.
Advice Critique Comments most welcome.
Thanks for looking
Posted by Barry Southon on September 26, 2009 at 10:24 AM
The original full frame
Posted by jeff acreman on September 26, 2009 at 10:51 AM
hi barry
personnelly i like the crop, works for me, more focal
Posted by Lee Newman on September 26, 2009 at 12:00 PM
The comp of the first image is much better. I like how the two of them are stood side by side & they stand ot well against the nice green background.
Lee
Posted by jack chapman on September 27, 2009 at 6:45 AM
i agree the crop is a stronger image but it's a much larger crop than i would normally consider, still i like the positions of the two deer
Posted by Barry Southon on September 27, 2009 at 7:22 AM
Thanks guy's what I was trying to establish was the very point, what proportion should be considered as a maximum crop that works?
Clearly the original needs to be good enough to start with can you over crop?
Posted by Lee Newman on September 27, 2009 at 9:33 AM
I think crops are a personal thing Barry, you have to try different things & see if they work. (look at the albatross of Deborahs. it is really tight but looks superb) If your subject is too small in the frame to start with though a big crop will lose too much detail. I just try different things with an image & try to see which looks right.
Lee
Posted by Duncan Armour on September 28, 2009 at 3:49 AM
Cropping primarily depends on the ultimate destination of your work. For web based stuff and digital projected images you can get away with lots, but if you print your work then keeping it to the minimum is crucial. So in your image above, the crop works in focusing attention on the two most attractive deer but wouldn't be something I'd try and get a 16 x12 print from. As a camera club member in a club with lots of competitions, I have a sorting system where I keep my "discards" for digital projected competitions (currently a maximum resolution of 1400x1050 at our club) and the best images are reserved for prints.
Debbie's albatross that Lee mentions above was composed like that it in camera (with a sliver taken off the bottom) so the print looks stunning too. So I'd always try and work to get the composition right in camera as it pays off in overall image quality.
Discussion
7 repliesI'm trying to understand the Crop issues a little clearer is it personal preferences or clear lines that dictate a decision?
May I use a recent example of a group of grazing deer constantly moving but I saw a shot within the shot so to speak after the event. It required a drastic crop.
1D3 Canon 800mm on bean bag in a hide. 1/100sec F/16 ISO800 800mm.
Advice Critique Comments most welcome.
Thanks for looking
personnelly i like the crop, works for me, more focal
Lee
Clearly the original needs to be good enough to start with can you over crop?
Lee
Debbie's albatross that Lee mentions above was composed like that it in camera (with a sliver taken off the bottom) so the print looks stunning too. So I'd always try and work to get the composition right in camera as it pays off in overall image quality.