your crop policy

[patrickv]

Hi guys,
I was thinking about crop...

Basically, here is how I go about it.
- I zoom in and out with my feet. I only use primes.
- I compose in viewfinder, trying to fill it. I have read countless times "if you're photos aren't good enough get closer"

Exception: action shots. I frame a bit wider, as the subjects are always moving, and crop after to frame properly.

What's your take on that one?

[ricktas]

I always try and get it right in camera. Generally the only cropping I do is to fix a slightly un-level horizon.

[Suter200]

I'm with Rick. Even when I'm taking photos of radio control cars I try to get in as close a possible. I do get a lot with no car in them but.

[Film Street]

I allow a little extra in the frame in case some rotation is needed and because I use rangefinders the framing is not as accurate as mirrored cameras. Printers usually crop by a very small amount automatically so having just a tad extra in there is good.

When I dig through older photos I have taken, I sometimes go to town on the cropping. It's a good method of pulling a new/better image from an old/mediocre image.

[JM Tran]

Wedding = frame it perfectly in camera

Travel = same as above

Commercial/Editorial = give a lot of leeway/space for cropping later on as clients usually need or demand that

primes for all sorts of work too.

[Xenedis]

I tend not to crop very often at all -- other than to fix the white space created by perspective correction and horizon straightening. As my camera doesn't have a 100% viewfinder, I may very occasionally need to crop very slightly if there's distracting subject matter near the edges. If such is small enough, I'd zooner clone it than crop it.

Like others, I frame in camera.

If the view doesn't look good in the viewfinder, I move or select the right lens and/or focal length.

Five of my seven lenses are primes, but my main zoom (16-35mm), which gets a lot of use for 'scapes, may as well be prime, as I tend not to use the zooming capability.

I don't like to throw away pixels unnecessarily, so I frame to maximise what the gear can 'see'.

Of course, I recognise that sometimes it's not possible to move or achieve an ideal composition. For the most part, planning can mitigate that, but occasionally one just needs to make do with the situation at hand and crop.

[mongo]

Horses for courses.

Mongo tend to get it right in camera as much as possible for landscapes and portraits with little to no cropping needed. However, for sport and particularly birding, even the longest lens is often not enough to avoid having to crop substantially .

[Eberbachl]

I really try not to crop if I can help it. Not that I never do it, but I don't like to crop extensively if I can help it. It's not uncommon for me to do a touch of rotation, so I guess I don't frame too tightly but I do like to get it framed right if I can in the camera.

[Lance B]

I try to get the composition right in the camera, but it depends on what I am doing with the final image and the camera used as well.

I own a Nikon D700 Full Frame camera and I used to own a Nikon D7000 APS C or DX camera and now I own a Nikon D800.

D700 = 12Mp FX - Full Frame
D7000 = 16Mp DX - APS C
D800 = 36Mp FX - Full Frame

I can crop the D800 back to DX size and yet still have the same Mp's, and therefore resolution, as the D7000 and yet have more resolution than the D700. So, I am able to be looser with framing with my D800 and then crop to how I want in post process with as much or more resolution as my previous cameras. However, if I want to print huge prints and fully utilise all the extra 36Mp's, then I need to get it as close as possible to correct in the camera.

It also comes down to what you are doing with the final prints or web images. If you are not printing/viewing them large, then you can crop a little more without it affecting the end resolution and therefore basic quality of the image. However, if you need to print/display for web large, then you will need to make sure you can keep as much resolution as possible and therefore avoid cropping.

[Rattus79]

General rule of thumb is that if you find yourself cropping excessively, then you need to get a bigger lens.

[Kym]

General rule of thumb is that if you find yourself cropping excessively, then you need to get a bigger lens.

Or get closer!! Remember that lens FL affects perspective. Try portraits at 30, 50, 100 and 200mm to see what looks best.

[Ms Monny]

General rule of thumb is that if you find yourself cropping excessively, then you need to get a bigger lens.

Oh, how I know this!! I am hoping Santa will give me a new telephoto lens. I found the 250 just didn't make the grade when it came to sports and birds!!

Personally, I try with all my heart to get it in the camera, but I am still learning, so cropping does happen. I hate cropping because I know I will be losing pixels. When I get an image that is perfect in camera, oh my, I am one happy chicky!!!

[ving]

i dont like to crop under any circumstances. sometimes i have to tho.

[Rattus79]

Or get closer!! Remember that lens FL affects perspective. Try portraits at 30, 50, 100 and 200mm to see what looks best.

Dont you DARE tell my Wife that!!!!

I'm hoping for a BIG Christmas present ....

[Xenedis]

General rule of thumb is that if you find yourself cropping excessively, then you need to get a bigger lens.

Or get closer.

[swifty]

Like most, I try to frame as best as I can but I got no problems cropping later. Especially when changing aspect ratio. Eg. Love the square format.
Also when shooting with very shallow DOF, I use the closest AF point but sometimes even that's not in the right place (the D700 AF points don't go to the edge enough). So rather than recompose and compromise focal point, I'll shoot as is and crop later.