What Format do you shoot in? Landscape or Portrait?
Reader Question Time….
What Format do you shoot in? Landscape or Portrait?
I’ve spoken previously about how both can be used effectively – but I find that most digital camera owners tend to have a preference for one or the other.
Open up your digital image folder or digital image storage program and scan through your last couple of months of shots:
- What is the predominant format that you’ve been shooting in?
- Why do you prefer it? (is it a conscious or subconscious thing?)
- Do you ever intentionally mix it up?
Have your say in comments below.
Previous posts touching on this topic:
67 Responses to “What Format do you shoot in? Landscape or Portrait?” - Add Yours
April 20th, 2007 at 2:31 am
I tend to stick by the rules that landscapes should be shot in landscape orientation and always forget to try the portrait orientation for landscapes (pictures).
April 20th, 2007 at 2:49 am
i think i use an almost balanced amount of each…though landscape being a wee bit more as i would just forget to turn the camera!
April 20th, 2007 at 3:09 am
Since my eyes are arranged horizontally, that is the natural way that I initially see most things. … So that is the way I capture most images. … If I find the subject interesting, I look further and capture different aspects, but the larger number of images are horizontal
April 20th, 2007 at 3:09 am
Tend to shoot more landscape, partly because I find it easier with the camera and partly because they fill the computer screen. Even when shooting people I often landscape.
But I do try to take portraits, and have spotted I take more of them when I use the battery grip with the second shutter button designed for vertical shooting – it’s just much easier.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:28 am
Vertical because horizontal photos doesn’t fit into the template of my blog. But I try to take some horizontal for myself!
April 20th, 2007 at 3:33 am
It really depends on the subject. I do shoot a lot in portrait, especially if it’s something tall (like a tree).
April 20th, 2007 at 3:33 am
Interesting questions – I don’t think I’d ever thought about it. Now that I have thought of it, though I realize that I often shoot the same scene both in landscape and vertical, and sometimes on a tilt – the tilted horizon can be especially dramatic with landscapes and archetecture.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:40 am
Most of my shots are horizontal, but I regularly use vertical also, it depends on the subject.
But horizontal is a natural for me. I suppose that the ergonomy of my camera (Canon Rebel XT) is also part of the answer. It’s much more easy to take horizontal than vertical shots.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:48 am
I just tend to shoot in whatever seems obvious. If it’s wide and not too tall, landscape. If it’s tall and there isn’t anything interesting on either side, portrait.
However, when taking night pictures while walking around, I often take portrait shots so I can steady the camera against a tree or sign post. (this still doesn’t work very well – I guess that’s what I get for being a newb.)
April 20th, 2007 at 3:56 am
You may want to fix the title, right now it says “What Format do you shoot in? Landscape or Horizontal?”.
I don’t know if it’s wrong or I’m just confused, but I guess it should say “Landscape or Portrait” or “Horizontal or Vertical”.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:56 am
Well, I really let the subject determine the orientation. But unfortunately, for one setting the hardware is dictating for me. I bought a SB-400 Nikon flash for my new D40. Unfortunately. I can only direct the flash up or down and not sideways. This has forced me to take indoor shots almost always horizontally. I like to bounce the flash off the ceiling. When the flash bounces off the wall I get terrible side shadows on my shots. So, had I the chance to do it again I would have probably bought a more versatile flash.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:08 am
I tend to shoot in landscape. Sometimes it is a conscious decision, sometimes it is just easier to grab the camera and start shooting.
Also, I tend to frame a lot my photos and I have noticed that frames tend to support landscape-oriented photos better than portrait. Quite a few of my frames have words or other objects on them, so you can’t just turn the frame. I have been disappointed several times when I have a great photo in portrait, then the “perfect” frame will only accomodate a landscape.
I also find it easier to hold the camera in landscape with the button on top. I wonder if I got a battery grip with a second trigger on it if I would be more inclined to shoot that way? Always something to think about!
April 20th, 2007 at 4:14 am
Mostly horizontal — mainly because the camera is easier to hold and operate that way. I do shoot vertical if I’m working with dominantly vertical subjects. Then sometimes I’ll shoot whatever and square crop it for that old-school effect — ooh, don’t forget to add the vignette and grain.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:24 am
My initial guess was about 50/50. I did a quick count, over the last 10 days 44% have been landscape and 56% have been portrait. It’s been semi-conscious/semi-unconscious.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:03 am
Horizontal, usually. Vertical maybe 15% of the time. I’d probably shoot vertically a lot more if I had a vertical grip for my camera. As it is, it’s a little awkward.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:14 am
Umm, isn’t landscape and horizontal the same thing?
April 20th, 2007 at 5:20 am
Portrait, just easier to operate with a battery grip that way.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:36 am
I’ve been noticing a strong vertical trend in my shots lately, but I tend to try to mix it up fairly evenly.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:46 am
Aren’t landscape and horizontal the same thing? :)
Other than that, yeah, mostly horizontal for ease of use.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:15 am
It definitely depends on the orientation of the subject that I’m shooting when I’m quickly taking shots. But if given the time (when I practice on my own) I take both in order to see which I like better in post on the computer.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Landscape. It is easier to shoot and to look at afterwards.
But I do portrait too. just it is more work.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:30 am
As others have probably mentioned, Landscape and Horizontal are the same thing.
That said, I mostly shoot in Landscape.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:30 am
hands down landscape. even with the battery grip on my camera that has a second shutter button specifically for portrait orientation, i find myself doing landscape mode most often. although most of the subjects i shoot lend themselves to this type of layout. i try to shoot portrait more often, but only when the subject warrants it.
in the end, i think it depends on what you’re shooting.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:34 am
thanks all for spotting the mistake in the title – fixed now :-)
April 20th, 2007 at 7:08 am
Can’t remember the last time I shot a vertical image. I do horizontal even for some shots that might lend themselves more to the vertical. I enjoy this site very much, btw.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:09 am
I tend to shoot 75% of my stuff vertical. Why I don’t know. I think I find it easier to frame that way…
April 20th, 2007 at 7:09 am
I predominantly shoot in landscape, but when I do use portrait orientation, I always turn my hand the same way, so it’s easy to rotate the images later. Whenever workmates show us vacation or other photos, the rotation is never consistent, so it takes longer to rotate the images and settle your eyes.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:11 am
Both. I often try each with an interesting subject to try to find another “angle”. Though the previous comments regarding monitor orientation are a good point. A portrait shot on a landscape screen always seems somewhat disappointing.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Typically horizontal but I think I should mix it up a bit more.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:54 am
For me it depends on the framing. If the object looks nicer in vertical i take it.Especially when you are far away from the subject and the DoF makes the background blurry. In that scenario i prefer to shoot vertically as it give more emphasis on my subject and less on the background. But if i want to cover the background as well then i move towards the subject and have less DoF.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:21 am
About a year ago I switched to 100% landscape. Given the vast megapixel capacity on today’s cameras (I have 12+ megapixels Canon 1Ds), I can crop any landscape photo into a portrait anytime I wish without degradation. I find this gives me the most flexibility
April 20th, 2007 at 9:34 am
I find I shoot vertically (portrait) more often than not. Just feels more natural for some reason.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:56 am
It really all depends on the photographer themself, where as I prefer portrait over landscape because I feel the composition comes together easier.. Might sound a little odd, but that’s what I feel. :)
April 20th, 2007 at 10:53 am
I tend to shoot vertically – but I guess that’s because I shoot a lot of portraits.
It also helps that the battery grip on my 350d fits in my hand better than the standard grip does.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:56 am
I mix it up quite a lot, probably about 2/3 landscape and 1/3 portrait when the day’s done. But I often find that portrait shots of landscapes end up most interesting! Especially if I’m trying to capture a layered composition. A portrait shot seems to me to have more foreground and more sense of depth and distance in the middle ground, proportionally.
I’m another one who frequently shoots the same subject both ways, especially intimate-landscape closeups. Sometimes one’s better, sometimes the other, and sometimes, delightfully, they’re both amazing but very different from each other.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Left to my own devices, I’d only ever take landscape format pictures. I have the “landscape” mindset even when portrait would suit the subject or the framing better. To deal with this, I’m making an effort to take a couple of portrait-format shots every time I go out with the camera. I figure that if I make the up-front effort to remember portrait as an option and to use it regularly (so that I get used to thinking about it as an option), it’ll eventually become a more-natural part of my toolbox.
April 20th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I was pretty damn sure that it was about 50/50, but when i checked my latest few folders, i noticed that a large amount of my picture are vertical. now, it varies a lot depending on what i’m shooting, but about 70% of my photos are vertical. it’s silly though – most of my portraits are horizontal, where as most of my landscapes are vertical. =)
April 20th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Landscape is my main format, however, I do not forget about portrait and I get the occasional shot, Id say about 70-30
April 20th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
For me Vertical vs Horizontal is totally a composition decision. Although with wide angle shots I favor landscape as I do when panning with action. To some extent my choice may be determined how do I fill the frame with useful information.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
I have to force my self to shoot landscapes in landscape! To me portrait seems a much more natural way of working.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I normally prefer to use the horizontal one, because it helps in reducing the camera shakes. I think the camera grip is designed this way, or may be it’s just me.
Also I can further crop any image later on with GIMP/Picasa if I have to.
April 20th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
As i capture mostly landscape scenes then landscape is the primary choice for me, but as suggested above it depends on the scene being captured. A tall object such as a tree or sign post etc, will only fit into a portrait image.
By the way, shooting portrait images is certainly easier since i bought a battery grip.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
I have no preference when shooting with digital. I just shoot with whatever I think the scene dictates, landscape or portrait. I most often shoot though with medium format in 6×6, so it’s not factor with it. :)
April 20th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I work as a technologist in a school system. Please – landscape. It is better now that windows products allow you to rotate photos in the application, but if you ever put together a 600 photo slide show for an end of the year celebration, cropping a landscape shot to portrait is fast. Stopping the workflow to rotate photos and then touch them up is a real pain.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
landscapelandscapelandscapelandscapelandscapelandscapelandscape
portrait
portrait
portrait
portrait
portrait
portrait
50 50
April 20th, 2007 at 11:55 pm
I don’t have any preference. I usually find myself shooting landscapes in vertical and portraits in horizontal, and viceversa. What I try to do if I’m not sure about which orientation’s the best for a given scene is just shot them both and decide later.
April 21st, 2007 at 1:28 am
More often then not, portrait, but that is because I primarly shoot people
Otherwise I’ll shoot whatever best suits the subject.
April 21st, 2007 at 3:28 am
I usually prefer landscape. For a long time I took almost all my photos in landscape. Now, I shoot some photos in portrait format. However, it is more difficult to correct for vertical perspective with the portrait format, and I do prefer my verticals to look right. My camera has a swivel display (Canon PowerShot Pro1), and I prefer to use the screen to compose, so it can sometimes be a bit more awkward in portrait mode.
I would love to have in-camera composition tools – tilt meters with a horizon line on the viewing screen, and boundary lines showing the effective edges of the perspective-corrected photo. It would be useful even to have such tools in PhotoShop (Bridge or Lightroom).
April 21st, 2007 at 7:48 am
I follow my eyes – being short I look up a lot, so…if my eyes go up I shoot vertical, if my eyes go landscape, I shoot landscape…if my eyes go for fine detail, I shoot close, or overall grand scheme, I shoot wide, etc… That is the fun of digital – you don’t have to just pick ONE!!!
April 21st, 2007 at 9:15 am
I take almost entirely landscape-aspect shots, but i’ve recently found myself using portrait-aspect. I’m beginning to see the benefit of mixing it up.
April 21st, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I love horizontal panoramic and the way that my compact Canon shoots in this mode. There’s so much to see around and I never want to miss a thing. Even when photographing portraits of people I prefer horizontal.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I tend to shoot more landscape because a good bit of my work is bound for web development. Also, portrait orientation doesn’t make good computer wallpaper.
That being said, I still like to mix it up. I’ll often shoot a scene both ways to see which one I like best.
April 22nd, 2007 at 1:25 am
I like to shoot in both ways. But I do normally end up taking portrait shots in the vertical mode and landscape in horizontal mode. At least with landscape photos I try to take many so that I will at least have a few out of the many that I will like, so I make sure to take it both horizontally and vertically.
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:32 pm
I hadn’t thought about it, but now that you mention it, I shoot vertical about 80% of the time. I shoot a lot of wildlife and landscapes, oddly, but I like the feel of towering nature so I tend to shoot things like ascending mountains and waterfalls. I also shoot a lot of isolated flowers and vertical just seems to frame better.
April 22nd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Any. All decisions in post-production. God save the “Crop Tool”
April 23rd, 2007 at 12:14 am
Mostly landscape for me. It’s not something I’m thinking about though. I think it’s because I like to capture what’s around the subject as well. Context just makes it better.
Close up stuff tends to get portrait however.
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:42 am
Whatever frames the subject the best.
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:26 am
More verticals since I got a vertical grip..
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:20 am
I prefer landscapes, because it feels more “standard.” Portrait orientation can be a little awkward to handle sometimes, as far as viewing goes.
But ultimately, when I’m shooting, I consciously pick one that will yield the best composition.
April 24th, 2007 at 6:33 am
Mostly Portrait. (I shoot both, but end up choosing portrait)
August 24th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Nearly always vertical! My hubby pays out on me as he always shoots horizontally. I like to take a lot of photos of the kids and it just looks better in vertical – don’t know why but you can get right in close and see all the detail in vertical, and my Canon Powershot S3 IS takes a beautiful vertical portrait phot.
The only time I tend to shoot horizontally is for landscape, and I have to think about it!
September 6th, 2007 at 6:53 am
It really depends on the subject I am shooting. I tend to pretty much shoot both. Some subjects I will shoot both ways and then determine which I like better when I fiew it on the screen.
October 27th, 2007 at 5:02 am
I use both. It really depends on what I’m trying to capture. I use horizonal a lot. I think I do that basically because that’s a normal feel for holding my camera. But in the wedding that I shot this weekend, I used vertical to capture their attire. Her dress was beautiful and I knew she would want to have a picture of it later.
I have Pentax *ist.
December 28th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Landscape for landscapes…portrait for portraits, landscape for 3 people in a portrait, portrait for tall trees, waterfalls…etc. =)
March 16th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I personally prefer portrait over landscape. For my work, I have to take a balance of both portrait and landscape. But when it comes to personal preference, I like to take close-up pictures of people, and I have come across good shots with potrait.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
although I do use both I tend to take Portrait oriented pictures as I use singled out flowers for a medium. Landscape isn’t often a good option.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:29 am
Why we, as photographers, even allowed a computer software company (Microsoft) to change the names of the orientation of photograph aspect ratios, I will never know. Why did Adobe adopt the ‘portrait/landscape’ terminology rather than just us what we have been using for hundreds of years, vertical/horizontal. The entire photographic industry should protest the use of the terms as they have been applied to digital media anyway and demand that this nonsensical use of the terms be reversed.
Why should it have been harder to learn to use the normal terminology for vertical and horizontal than these new, non-accurate, improperly applied terms anyway? It is just confusing to the novice photographer.
The terms portrait and landscape do not even mean vertical and horizontal.
No, ‘landscape’ is not the ONLY way you can shoot a landscape with a camera AND shooting a landscape as a vertical is not ‘breaking any rules’ because the misuse of this term should not imply that it is the orientation that a landscape MUST be photographed. There are some fantastic tall vertical lansacape photographs made with wide view cameras that are incredible.
Orientation of the aspect ratio of a photograph should be according to compositional framing, not the application of a missapplied term.
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