The Art of Cropping
Published: June 27, 2002
Take some off the top and a little off the sides—that sounds like something you might say to your barber. Armed with a digital camera, however, you may find yourself saying it while seated in front of your computer. Just as the barber trims your hair to improve your appearance, you can trim photos to improve how they look. Knowing at what point in the digital workflow to crop can have a significant impact on your pictures.
Once done exclusively in the darkroom, cropping is now done easily on the computer monitor. Cropping removes extraneous information from a photo and emphasizes what matters. It's an important tool in film and digital photography, and can be accomplished two different ways. Both involve the same principle, probably coined by a master photographer in days gone by: “Get close, then closer.”
Whenever possible, you'll obtain a better finished result if you perform the first crop in the camera. To do that, frame up just the best part of the scene in the camera's viewfinder before the photo is taken.
Look at any number of family snapshots and you'll see why. Often the subject is in there, but it may take some work to find the photo's main area of interest. Put simply, the photo lacks impact. If Aunt Millie is small in the frame and there's lots of wasted space on each side, move closer. A tight portrait of Aunt Millie, emphasizing the character in her eyes and the life in her smile, makes a better photo. To get the most out of lower-resolution digital cameras especially, cropping in the camera is essential. You may still crop further on the computer, but as long as you've filled the frame when taking the picture, you'll be in good shape.
For those times when cropping in the camera isn't an option, or you want to crop more to really enhance the drama in a photo, use image editing software. Most programs allow you to crop to standard print sizes as well as proportions you choose, such as a panorama. If the camera was slightly crooked when the shutter button was pressed, you may also be able to correct horizon lines that are off-kilter by rotating the image first, then cropping.
In some professional circles, cropping is considered to be a technique that can make or break a photo. As a result, a lot of effort is put into making sure the crop is just right. If you're staring at a great shot on your screen, taking the time to trim out unwanted detail almost always pays dividends in the form of a photo with higher impact.
Cropping tips:
| • | Crop in the camera. As already discussed, the best place to do the initial crop is at the time the picture is taken. You can do that simply by moving closer to the subject, or by changing the focal length of the zoom lens, if your camera has one (most all-in-one digital cameras do). A typical 3-megapixel camera, for example, creates a photo with just enough resolution for a decent 8x10 inch print. If you have to crop out a lot of the photo later, then you're effectively turning the camera into a 2-megapixel camera, or even a 1-megapixel camera, depending on how much you crop in your image editor. Therefore, always shoot your photos to capture the essence of the scene and you'll be rewarded with better quality enlargements. |
| • | Crop for interest. Whether you crop in the camera or later with software, focus on what really matters in the picture, and crop for that. |
| • | Crop to fit standard print sizes. If you want a 5x7 inch print from the photo on your screen, adjust the crop tools' settings in your image editor to 5x7 inches. That way, the photo fits the print size exactly. |
| • | Try unusual crop shapes. Sometimes, a photo looks bland when cropped to a standard print size, perhaps because there are distracting details on the sides you'd prefer to not see. In that case, try a deep vertical crop and see if it brings the picture to life. Or, if you photographed a sprawling cityscape, try a wide panorama. As you get the hang of cropping, you start to realize its power by applying more and more radical crops, including tight portraits with the hair, chin, and ears cropped out, or the subject almost spilling out of the edge of a frame. Crops like this are used to create tension within the images, and can really enhance the oomph when applied to the right photo. For special occasions you might also try applying custom crop shapes, such as hearts for Valentine's Day, if your image editor supports this. |
| • | Straighten crooked horizons. It's not always possible to keep the camera level when taking a photo. While a photo that is slightly off balance is sometimes pleasing, in most cases its appearance can be enhanced by straightening a horizon that is not running parallel to the bottom of the photo. Some image editors enable you to crop and fix a horizon in one step. |
| • | Don't mess with success. If you've successfully cropped the photo at the time it was taken, don't automatically feel the need to trim more. Sometimes, leaving the photo just as it was captured by the camera is the best crop of all. |
