Cropping images... Or not?

[manatag]

Hello everyone!
Few weeks ago, I had something what I like to call wtf moment I've read a post from a great film photographer who said that he noticed a strange and frustrating fact: little by little, in a period in which he left his analog camera and started shooting with digital one, he started to rely on cropping. More and more, with each image he took. He said that slowly he stopped thinking about contrast, light measuring, frame, and started to rely on post-processing.

His words made me think, and then it hit me, in so many ways. As an amateur photographer (digital-era-child) with only year or so of experience, I've translated his words into my situation and work-flow, and decided that I'm going to make little exercise, and look at my pictures as they are - no cropping, no aligning and leveling. What you see is what you get.

Now, few weeks later, my mindset is changing. I'm becoming pleasant with my work (few weeks from today, today's image will look like crap, I'm sure, but that is improvement. I think.), thinking more each time when I look through the viewfinder. Not after.

"Shit, i didn't notice that door in the left bottom that look so stupidly now, half cut."
"Oh, go back there with your camera and pay attention this time!"



Basically, what I want to say is that by taking away easy accessible tools (only one from hundreds), I've learn to see and think different when I'm holding my camera.

What do you think about that? How much do you rely on cropping in post-processing?

(Sorry for my bad English!)

[Jim Bryant]

I always try to ask myself, "what can I do to improve this photograph." I guess it depends on what you're shooting at the time. For me, being a photojournalist and sports shooter, I always crop in the camera so that there's nothing in the view finder that distracts from the photo. But landscapes, I could see why one would want to shoot the entire scene.

[Photologyst]

How it came out of the camera is not what you got from top photographers in the film era.

Great and good photographers have always cropped and always done PS processing, formerly in the wet, chemical darkroom and now in the digi-darkroom.

I try to take the very best pix that I can, often with multiple exposures. Thereafter I PS process and crop as needed to realize my vision of what the photo should convey.

[manatag]

Originally Posted by Photologyst

How it came out of the camera is not what you got from top photographers in the film era.

Great and good photographers have always cropped and always done PS processing, formerly in the wet, chemical darkroom and now in the digi-darkroom...

I'm not saying that cropping is evil or something It is inevitable, sometimes, but trying to avoid it made me think about taking pictures in a different way. I was so angry couple of times when (in the beginning of an experiment), in all the hurry and excitement, I forgot to check something basic like horizontal leveling.
Throw away those images, even though some of them could exist in that form. Now, most of the time I don't make mistakes like that. And that makes me happy.

[Tamster]

..lol... I know exactly what you are talking about... I have had an electrical outlet right by someones head a few times because i'm just not paying attention. hahah so now i'm more aware of the surroundings

[Jonbar18]

I don`t think reliing on PS is from the tools. They always had them. It`s from the fact that digital images are free. Well extremely cheap. So people take photos after photo randomley thinking i`ll`get some good ones. And i can always edit them.

That`s why I bought a film SLR. To get into the habit of paying attention to my shots. (That and DSRLs are EXPENSIVE!)
(Aren`t you proud of me Jim? )

[Jim Bryant]

Originally Posted by Jonbar18

I don`t think reliing on PS is from the tools. They always had them. It`s from the fact that digital images are free. Well extremely cheap. So people take photos after photo randomley thinking i`ll`get some good ones. And i can always edit them.

That`s why I bought a film SLR. To get into the habit of paying attention to my shots. (That and DSRLs are EXPENSIVE!)
(Aren`t you proud of me Jim? )

Yes, I am. I truly think the only way to learn photography is by shooting film. I cropped in the enlarger and now I even crop in PS. Nothing wrong with it. I find cropped photos guides my eye to the point of interest of the subject area. Cropping also makes your photo much more dramatic and thus cropping out all the non important items.

[Jim Bryant]

Actually, you got me thinking again.......oh my! When you come to think about it, the digital images aren't free when you take in account of the costs of the digital camera, lenses, flash, CF cards, CF hard holders, card reader, camera bag, computer upgrades, PS, Aperture 3 Lightroom 3, Photo Mechanics, cd's/Dvd's external hard drives, web service, website design, domain name, internet services....and you know I could go on and on. However, it is in time cheaper than film purchase, processing and printing, negatives sleeves, storage books, darkroom & chemicals, paper, enlarger, enlarger lenses, dodging tools, paper easels, safelights, fan, and whatever else one would might need.

[Izzy]

Straight unadulterated prints from Ansel Adams photos are not even close to what the image was altered to in the darkroom. The prints we know today are not what we would get just printing straight from the negative.

The wondrous world of alchemy

[ravncat]

It's always nice to be able to rethink cropping, digital makes it easier to play with cropping. The real key is that we can see a larger more detailed image, cropping in post is powerful.

Though, I find one needs less cropping with a clear image in mind and the right lens, the technical results are often better with less cropping. More pixels on target can mean alot

in the end, cropping is the only way to get many aspect ratios and it's rarely bad to have a second chance.

P.s. I think not thinking and reflexivly shooting helps us tap into our unique inner eye. What we first see. It's not a bad tool, but in my experience there is always a better shot. Returning to a location to get it, works sometimes, others you see that particular lighting, only rarely.