STOP this Beginner CROPPING Mistake! (4:5 🔄 1:1)
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
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In this week’s episode, we discuss the beginner cropping mistake you should avoid in your landscape photos. Some folks believe that cropping should never be done and that the composition should always be perfected in camera, and for those that can do that - kudos to you, but that's just not me. I apply a crop to just about every single photo I edit and I personally believe the crop tool is one of the best ways you can improve your photography...when it's used appropriately. In this video, I'll show you the four main reasons that folks begin using the crop tool on their landscape photos along with the big cropping mistake that impacts many beginners getting started. I hope you enjoy this week's episode and as always thanks so much for watching! - Mark D.
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🔘 Main Reasons to Crop: 0:47
🔘 Cropping Mistake: 4:41
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🌟QUICK QUESTION: Do you crop more or less than 50% of your photos?
I'll go first - Way more!
I also love the crop tool but when I have determined the composition before the shutter button is pressed it will be a pity when the crop is too much, moreover I have to change the ratio. but if it has to be done, why not 🤣🤣
Sorry for my bad english🙏🏼
Way more as well!
85-90 percent
I was reluctant to use the crop tool until I watched your videos and found that the crop tool is not too scary and an incredibly powerful tool! I crop more than 50% of my photos as well. Another great video, Mark! Thanks for your continued efforts and work!
When I first started learning photography, a lot of UA-camrs suggested everyone to fill the frame. So that's what I did. Then I went to print an 8x10 and an 11x14 and realized that wasn't true. The sensor is a 3:2 ratio. You can't print an 8x10 at that ratio. You don't have as choice but to crop. Well guess what happens when you fill the frame as a 3:2 ratio. You get few boxes for aspect ratios to print from without ruining your picture by cropping out parts that you don't want to crop out. So now I leave room around the edges because I don't know what size print I might want. When I get home I look and see what I think would make the best size print. So cropping for me is either to do things like you do or to frame it right for print.
Same thing for social media- always had to crop out parts I didn't want to just to fit different aspect ratios
I always print full frame. It leaves a bit wider margins on two sides of the paper, but gets the entire image on the sheet. You can use those wider margins for taping down when matting the image, or trim them off if you are mounting the image. If you use a professional printer, they usually have a full frame option.
Finally someone who talks about this, and uses the huge amount of megapixels we now have in cameras :) Cropping is completely underrated.
I crop often, but for the sake of practicing composition, I try to visualize and take the initial shot as if it was never going to be cropped then I just recompose with the crop tool to bring the subject in better light if needed (which is why I've invested in high MP cameras); I find that I'm doing this mostly for sports and street photography where I just don't want to miss a moment, but I'm not always 100% ready for the shot.
This was an 'Ah ha" moment for me, too, Mark. It was so helpful to see how the dominant sides and visual flow is important in cropping. You have made me see cropping in a new way. Thanks.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the video Mary!
Same here!
Excellent video. Those of us who started their photography journey with film & the darkroom were taught to compose in the camera…..always. That mindset was carried over to digital for me until I realized that it was kind of a silly thing to hold onto. I started shooting a bit wider than necessary so that I could adjust as needed and the rest of the story is I don’t hesitate to play around with different crops to get just the perfect composition. It’s just another tool in the toolbox. Why not use everything you have to your advantage! BTW, I love the square crop and have used it more often than not. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “when in doubt, crop it out”😁👍
Your advice goes beyond landscape photography. I started as a landscape photographer but have moved on to birds. I think your tips are equally applicable. Thanks for sharing Mark and hello from Charlotte.
I've got 8 years of design education and 41 years of 2D and 3D professional design under my belt. I must say, this is a great discussion of this topic.
Another thing that can help visualize the flow when you are cropping are the crop overlay tools, "O" and "Shift + O" to cycle through.
I crop a fair amount of my photos but I’ve never really consciously though about visual flow. I usually just experiment to see what is more pleasing to my eye. I tend to go with 4x5 the most when I crop and occasionally 1x1 or 16x9.
Holy cow Mark, this was really eye-opening. Thanks for this video! Well done.
Awesome to hear - thanks for letting me know!
The square crop is also what we had on the sleeves of music records and CDs! For me as a kid it was always fascinating to explore the artwork on the sleeve on a vinyl record. (Like from "War of the Worlds", for example).
I've been cropping by what feels right, but you just explained why it usually feels right. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it Steve!
I have the crazy need to solve your rubik's cube. I can't bear to see it undone. On the other hand, thanks for the video. It is very illustrative and emphasizes a form factor that I have always ignored in my photos.
That’s opened my eyes as to best crop format and to play around with the tool
All good advice here - I often do play around with cropped orientations. I'll have to experiment more with the square, though, something you've motivated me to do here. Thanks a lot MD.
I think this video will definitely change how I approach my compositions from now on!
It's easy to get analysis paralysis with cropping... I can usually find 4-5 versions per photo that work and can't decide.
Variety is a good thing. Good presentation to help us expand our horizons ... while cropping! Thanks. Well done.
--I am from "old school" photography!! Having been a photographer since 1964. Going back to working in the darkroom developing/printing my images. Yes--it is nice to be able to get the "crop" the shot in the viewfinder, but not always possible. Hence cropping/editing the finished product may be necessary to get the scene you wanted. Digital makes it so much easier. But-to do it properly ones needs to understand visual flow and orientation!!
Fascinating. An A-ha moment indeed, Mark. Thank you!
Fabulous vid, never thought about cropping deliberately. Always has been a passive element.
Great explanation! So clear and simple. Thanks Mark for such good advice.
Interesting point, thanks! Also interesting was the last photo with the lighthouse in it: I didn't even notice the lighthouse until the image was cropped square. So, point taken.
Wow that was an amazing insight to the effect of orientation and cropping! I always love the way you stumble on a word, pause and correct it. You come across so real and human and down to earth! Wanna grab a beer sometime?
I very often make a virtual copy and then crop landscape orientations to a 16x9 so that I can fill my HD monitor screensaver photo slideshows that I have running on my Mac or Windows machines. Fills the screen (or phone) and just looks better versus a 3:2 crop. And I usually crop a portrait shot from 2:3 to 4:5. That seems to be better for people portraits, which may be why 8x10 framed photos are so popular for so long.
Very good tutorial! Thank you Mark. Got to review my photographs and see what they look like with a judicious crop.
Thanks for that. I never thought of cropping in terms of eye movement.
Great “ah ha”. Moment for me as well! Thanks Mark, great educational clip! Keep snapping!
Positive proof here Mark that sometimes less is actually more! Well demonstrated, have a great day.👏😀👍
Very useful and enlightening, Mark. Usually, when I crop I´m thinking about the rule of thirds and stuff like that. I have a new perspective now.
Glad you enjoyed it Peter!
Great explanation of flow. Another good use of cropping is to create an image within an image. I use this a lot with wildlife photography.
Great video Mark. You have inspired me to go back and re-examine my photos for ways to improve them.
Very insightful, Mark! I try to compose close to what I want for the final view, but usually leave some extra space to allow for clean up. My camera doesn't have a built-in level, so I often have to level the shots up in post, which always eats up some of the outside of the frame. It's nice to have some cushion!
Agreed! Always great to have a bit of breathing room.
I've never thought about it in quite the way you've presented but I do crop photos on a regular basis to improve the image. For me it's always been as simple as, "this looks better this way" or "that way". However, it's not very often that I use a square orientation. I'll have to take a closer look at doing that. Thanks again for another helpful video.
Glad to do it Bill and thanks for checking out the video!
Thanks Mark. Great suggestions as usual. I'm with you - nothing wrong with cropping in post to improve the visual impact! I regularly play around with cropping as a way of helping improve my composition skills. I often discover a much better composition buried away in the original shot somewhere. Helps me figure out what to look for on location next time.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the video Paul!
Incredibly useful video, Mark. In particular, your use of arrows overlying the images was very helpful. Best, Steve Brandt
Thanks Steve!
The most common reason I find myself cropping is prior to printing. For those of us who print on 8 x 10 or 8 1/2 x 11 paper, or 11 x 14 for that matter, we need to cut down the long dimension considerably if using a full-frame sensor. If we get the composition perfect in-camera, we run into problems when we go to print the image. So we have to crop wide in-camera and crop later in post. So I sort of question the "pros never crop in post" dogma we often hear. Maybe these guys never print.
Great discussion. Whenever possible I like to sell framed prints so I try to shoot to allow cropping to readily available frame and matte sizing. Custom sizing benefits only the framer so I avoid it unless a client is displaying where they wish to match formats to their existing collection. Then I can't avoid watching the framer earn more from my prints than I do. :)
I learned about directing the viewer's eye a long time ago in art class in high school. This video was a great reminder of that. I really liked how you explained how cropping would change how the viewer might see the photo. It took me a moment to grasp what you meant by dominant edge and I realized you meant the longer side. Thinking about how the photo could be cropped will help my composition too. Thank you!
Awesome perspective, very helpful, as always. beautiful job!
Very useful take on composition. Thank you!!
I find myself referring to the Golden Ratio with most of landscape compositions. I tend to scan in a counterclockwise motion and the Golden Ratio lends itself to that - even with square crops.
I think it could also work with all your example photos in this video.
I print my work often, so cropping can easily ruin a portfolio image. That's why I need a MP monster like your Fuji. Thanks for the video, Mark!
Glad to do it Yuri!
Thanks Mark, you opened my eyes to some great alternative cropping techniques!
I love videos like this that make me think a little more deeply into a common but possibly overlooked part of cropping.
I usually experiment with the crop tool to find what looks most pleasing to the eye but I couldn't exactly explain why a specific one worked better than the others. I'll usually first decide what to eliminate from the edges by cropping in and then trying out different ratios by looking away from the image and looking back to notice where my eye would land and travel to. Your description of how dominant sides effect visual flow really helps explaining what looks pleasing to the eye and will likely help in quickly determining which crop to go for. Great video!
Ah-ha moment for me as well! I'll pay more attention to visual flow in various compositions.
A very useful training session. Many thanks Mark for your help!
Thanks for taking the time out check out the video Alan!
As always Mark …a really well delivered thoughtful video. I mainly go for street or documentary photography and only recently have “discovered” that actually a square crop works really well on many of my shots and subjects… you have just confirmed the light bulb moment of .. how my eye is now circulating..Really good advice , many thanks!
Thanks for saying that Jeff - really appreciate it!
We had to imitate Vivian Maier and use 1:1 for street photography, and it made my pictures so much better!
Thank you VERY MUCH for this blog. the light just went on in my head a big lesson on cropping THANK YOU Mark
Glad to do it David and thanks for checking out the video!
Tanks for sharing all you do.
This is really helpful for a hobbyist like me.
Square orientation is one of the main reasons for Instagram success. It made easier for non-photographers to create great compositions.
I never knew about this concept. This was a great explanation of other reasons to crop. I will be looking at this from now on. Thank you, Mark.
This really explains well something that I kinda knew intuitively but didn't really understand.
I crop most of my photos. Partly for the first reasons you listed, but also because you need to for posting to IG or FB or even to print them out.
Mark you have a habit of hitting the nail straight on the head, thanks mate. after watching and totally agreeing with you, I took out an image from a big competition I had entered used the edge theory and placed it back in............ it looks 100% better, I had dead space on each side, trouble is now they will see the dead space in the centre, but hey ho see how it goes.. thanks again.
Thanks for the awesome comment - really appreciate it!
Good tips. Bottom line: In good photography, LESS is very often MORE. To answer the question usually less than 50%. That said, I also do enjoy panoramic images which seems somewhat contrary to cropping though I suppose you could zoom in and do a pano of a narrow scene taking full advantage of the additional pixels. Peter Lik does this a lot- like his pano'ish piece featuring horses called Faithful is stunning. His shots take on an unearthly presence.
That's an interesting concept, the vision flow. I'll pay more attention to that. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the video Paulo!
Always great videos! genuinely the best photography content I've ever seen, keep up the great work!
That means a lot - thanks Tim!
Great explanation, Mark. Possibly many photographers choose their crop with an element of instinct, but the idea of the visual flow introduces really practical basis for making cropping decisions. Thanks for a great insight into the whole process.
Thanks for taking the time out check out the video Michael!
I would add one more moment to the discussion. I like this term “dominant edge”. This means, that when you are looking through the viewfinder, you are evaluating your composition along the dominant edge of your camera. But what if you change the camera to the square format? You will evaluate the same composition differently. This is the reason why I’m using a film camera with square frame alongside with my Nikon D850. With square frame camera your world isn’t cut from the top and the bottom and afterwards it is easier to crop vertically or horizontally. Actually, D850 allows to change an aspect ratio to a square format by shading with black part of the frame in the viewfinder. But initially, square frame of my film camera forcing me to think about composition differently.
That was a really useful & educational video, many thanks. I don't see an 'ethical' problem with cropping and frequently shoot a little wider to give better options for tweaking in post, so I crop more than 50%.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Mark!
During a trip, i like to crop on-the-go with my M1 iPad. Mainly for better ideas/composing for next days...
Regarding the Lighthouse image, the 1x1 portrait crop looked a lot nicer than the 4x5 crop.
Such simple principles, yet they add so much to the final image. As always, wonderful insights from Mark!
Thanks Denis!
Great perspective on cropping, Mark. I crop most of my photos and think in terms of balance and all the other tools of composition, but never thought of long sides as dominant edges before. At least not consciously. And now I will think with that too when cropping. Thanks!
Great video and value. Thank you for the teacher inside you!
Thanks a million Hank!
Great video. I crop probably most of my photos at this time as I learn. Probably because I want to make sure I capture enough So I don’t miss anything and then evaluate and crop. Probably a good thing to do with life as well. Evaluate your day, find the good, and crop out the not so good. Thanks for another great video.
Good lesson today. I was reluctant to use the square crop for a while, but now use it more often. Cropping in post production is a must as I think most people will shoot a little bit extra so they have some leeway to get the right composition.
Thanks so much Maurice!
Thank you! This is really great. I experiment a lot with cropping, but sometimes I feel a little lost as to which way to crop. I'm going to go through some photos with these tips in mind and see what I can come up with.
up to a 4-5years ago I was against croping my photos it was just something i didn't like . Then things happen and now I think I crop 80% . Visual path/flow is something I don't think I thought about at all it makes so much sense , thanks for this thing to think about
I crop all photos 3 ways plus original then pick out the one or two I like.
So much fun to learn new things. Awesome video. Thanks 🙏
Thanks so much!
This is a GREAT video and massive tip. I 110% learned something new to help me. Amazing how much it can change a photo.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the video!
Thank you for this great presentation. I never heard or thought about dominant sides or the visual flow. After having seen your demonstration it seems so obvious now and I will certainly keep an eye on it.
Good video about cropping if you have a 100 MP camera but my camera is 24 MP then I have to stick to the minimal edge crop or straighten the horizon. Basically you can make 4 different 25 MP images from your 100 MP sensor.
I'm a full frame photographer and rarely crop my images. If I do crop it's just to clean up the edges, like you say. But in most images my eye goes directly to the center of the image and zooms out, rather than going on a path. I do like perspective though - and with perspective, my eye tends to follow a path.
Cropping is the most important part of my process. I find that sometimes "in the field" I don't have the time/disposition/lens to get the framing I want, or in many cases I think my framing appears decent when I take the photo but then realize its no good when I look back at it later. On more than one occasion, I change my subject matter during cropping because I think it suits the shot better. And of course, as you mentioned, getting rid of edge distractions is a must.
I usually leave a bit around the edges to allow for a crop if needed.
Yes - I do as well.
When I started taking pictures on film, I learn to always look at the 4 corners in the viewfinder while composing your shot, they will always complaint that I will take too much time taking a picture without understanding what I was trying to do. Later with digital cameras and backscreens instead of viewfinders I kind lost my sense of composition and started shooting kind "loose frame" and recompose and crop in post. You bring an important point on how important is correctly crop your images to make them pop. I grunge when I see feet or hands or head cutout from the frame
Another great video. But those who say they don’t crop..,,. What happens when you print you have to crop it.
Fantastic presentation on cropping. I had never really given it much thought, but your presentation seems spot on and I am sure it will improve my edits in the future.
A really good overview of cropping choices and reasons to crop in editing Mark. One reason I find myself cropping is to explore the intricate detail in the feathers or fur of birds and animals I capture. Often the hidden details and beauty are only revealed once you are at the computer and I often choose to crop out more of the environment in order to bring focus to the beauty of the subject. Many times there would be no way to accomplish this in camera by moving closer (scaring off the animal) or breaking the bank to buy an extremely long focal length lens. Thanks for this great video Mark!
Thanks for the great comment Jim!
Really nice video! It's an interesting topic and I think you explained in a very clear way and gave useful advice, thanks!
Thanks so much - glad you think so!
Thanks so much! Great analysis!
I almost always crop, but for different reasons on different shots, as you say. The concept I never heard before is "dominant edge" and I now will be considering that deliberately (although I think I may have done so instinctively in some cases).
Thanks for these ideas on looking at a photo. Lately I’ve been using the square crop on many of my wildlife photos. They just seemed to work better that way if they don’t have much going on except for the animal. With your explanation I now know why they look better. Light bulb went on in my head! 💡. Thanks again….always enjoy your videos.
Thanks so much Micheal!
This is really good information. I never really thought before why I enjoy square crop so much. I thought it was because I learned photography with 6x6 cameras, but I now wonder if my eye prefers to travel in circles rather than lines. It may be that we tend to compose an image as to our own personal preference of eye travel. 🤔
Thanks for showing us this insight.
Thanks for taking the time out check out the video!
Nicely done and much appreciated. I think Instagram has also made people more comfortable with the square format, and most labs now provide inexpensive square prints.
I shoot 3:2, which is the sensor ratio. In my camera and I am sure most of them raw images are always full sensor size. An image ratio is only applied to the JPG image and the viewfinder. So I might as well have the full sensor JPG image and crop in post which I do until it looks right to me, ignoring any aspect ratio.
I realize that occasionally seeing the intended final image ratio in camera can be useful but my shooting at this time is more of a spontaneous kind where fiddling with camera settings would just result in missed pictures.
Thank you so much.... you are a fountain of information. I took many notes!!
Thanks a million Susan!
now that is awesome 😍
BTW Mark I`ve often heard other photographers say to leave space around your composition when taking photos so that you can crop later in post.
A great spot light on cropping! I started photography with and still shoot 6X6 film (or 1:1). One thing I have found is that my 1:1 images are much stronger when composed as such. Nothing wrong with finding and applying a 1:1 crop later on but composing square is an art and will result in more intentional and powerful images IMHO.
Thanks Gregory!
Very useful insights. Thanks Mark.
Much appreciated David!
Great video Mark, made me reconsider the real benefit of the square crop which I've not used much at all! Thank you very much!
Thanks so much!
Very interesting!! Never thought this way. Thanks ‼️
Thanks for taking the time to check out the video!
Nice video, Mark. I'd never really thought in terms of "dominant sides" before. Would be interested in hearing more about how different crops work in relation to leading lines as well.
So much useful information. Great video!
Thank you!
Very informative video, thanks for the info.