I remember from a while ago a thread about including information about the percent of FF of avian images. I think it was a fairly heated thread. I know that a lot of people don't list that. My question is, if people don't list it but the image looks like it may be a large crop, is it acceptable to ask about that in a critique, or no? Or if you don't list it, do you consider that basically your own business and not something you should be asked about? Thanks.
Posted by Brian Gatlin on December 5, 2011 at 10:30 PM
Barbara, in my opinion this is completely acceptable to ask, as it can be important to clarifying how to improve an image (or what went wrong and how to do better next time). Say an image shows a higher degree of noise than you would expect for the given ISO, or less detail than you might expect if it were full frame. Maybe the noise is not due to the ISO--maybe the exposure was missed in the field and processing increased the noise, or maybe a heavy crop accentuated it. Maybe the lack of detail is due to missed focus, poor technique, or maybe it is due to a heavy crop. If it's not posted, there's only one way to find out.
I make a point of always stating the crop % of each image I post. As I've learned here, I've learned to see how detail is lost and noise increases with excessive cropping by paying attention to all the technical details of an image--including crop %. I hope that I can help others do the same.
Crop percentage is easy to come by too--when I crop an image in ACR, as I adjust the crop rectangle, below the image it shows me the size of the resulting file--in both pixel dimensions, and in megapixels. Taking the megapixel number and dividing it by the original MP of the camera provides the % of original and only takes about 10 seconds.
Posted by Ron Dudley on December 5, 2011 at 10:48 PM
Ditto Brian. All of it.
Posted by Richard Ditch on December 6, 2011 at 12:11 AM
I agree completely with Brian, and therefore also with Ron.
As I've stated her many times before cropping is often necessary to fine tune a composition but it is a poor substitute to getting close enough to the subject (either physically or with optic power). As cropping goes up noise goes up and resolution and detail go down. Percent of crop is important no matter how many Megepixels you start with because every lens can only deliver a fixed amount of resolution and cropping is essentially the same as tossing away the lens resolution.
So, being aware of how much you crop is an important first step in understanding the quality in the final image. It is very easy to under estimate the amount of the crop just by "eyeballing" the cropping tool so take the bit of extra time to calculate it as Brian describes.
Be honest when you post an image for critique and include the crop percentage whenever possible so that viewers can use that information in any critique.
And ask if the information wasn't provided when you suspect that quality issues may be the result of heavy cropping.
Posted by Howard Cheek on December 6, 2011 at 8:04 AM
I agree with all the statements of fact here. I was submitting the % crop in my image info until recently.
Maybe I'm too sensitive, but got tired of the invariable "Held up well in spite of the crop" type of comment.
Although I found myself saying it as well..
Since I list most of the images I post for sale, I don't need the potential customer viewing that particular info anyway.
So I do not include it anymore. If an NPN member wants to know it, I will freely offer it in the comment section.
Discussion
4 repliesI make a point of always stating the crop % of each image I post. As I've learned here, I've learned to see how detail is lost and noise increases with excessive cropping by paying attention to all the technical details of an image--including crop %. I hope that I can help others do the same.
Crop percentage is easy to come by too--when I crop an image in ACR, as I adjust the crop rectangle, below the image it shows me the size of the resulting file--in both pixel dimensions, and in megapixels. Taking the megapixel number and dividing it by the original MP of the camera provides the % of original and only takes about 10 seconds.
As I've stated her many times before cropping is often necessary to fine tune a composition but it is a poor substitute to getting close enough to the subject (either physically or with optic power). As cropping goes up noise goes up and resolution and detail go down. Percent of crop is important no matter how many Megepixels you start with because every lens can only deliver a fixed amount of resolution and cropping is essentially the same as tossing away the lens resolution.
So, being aware of how much you crop is an important first step in understanding the quality in the final image. It is very easy to under estimate the amount of the crop just by "eyeballing" the cropping tool so take the bit of extra time to calculate it as Brian describes.
Be honest when you post an image for critique and include the crop percentage whenever possible so that viewers can use that information in any critique.
And ask if the information wasn't provided when you suspect that quality issues may be the result of heavy cropping.
Maybe I'm too sensitive, but got tired of the invariable "Held up well in spite of the crop" type of comment.
Although I found myself saying it as well..
Since I list most of the images I post for sale, I don't need the potential customer viewing that particular info anyway.
So I do not include it anymore. If an NPN member wants to know it, I will freely offer it in the comment section.