What the PROS know about CROPPING (that I wish I knew sooner!)

Do you like cropping your photos? What’s your reason?

“this is a mugshot, not a piece of art.” 😂😂😂😂 I love it 👌 Simon is a whole mood 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you for another coffee break very well spent. You're spot on with the current sensors being so large that you can crop in after the exposure. Here is why I always crop my images, to avoid theft. That's right, some photographers steal your photos and post them as their own (some are pros), don't get me started there. By cropping my posted images, I have the uncropped area as evidence that the photo is indeed mine. This makes copyright challenges easy, and quick, and the thieves remove their claims faster than you can make your next cappuccino. :)

Another reason why cropping has to be acceptable - even to purists who argue that it isn't - is that viewfinders don't always have 100% coverage. For example my ancient Nikon D5000 (still producing great images 15 years later) has a viewfinder coverage of 95% of the total image size which means if you've cropped absolutely perfectly in camera you're in for a bit of a disappointment when you view the actual image as there'll be a little bit extra you couldn't see through the viewfinder which you'll have to crop if you want to produce the image you thought you were getting. I know some cameras (possibly all cameras now) have greater viewfinder coverage but the principal remains. Another argument that you'll lose pixels is only relevant if you crop the image in both aspects - if you crop only the height of the image to create a more "panoramic" result the pixel density is not altered, just the total number of pixels, so resolution is unaffected. Great video as always Simon - keep 'em coming.

I love that you're just giving out informations and tips, without saying "it's wrong to crop/not to crop" and not imposing your ideas! This is real wisdom and I'll take great care of it, thanks sir.

The general motto of the puritans also fits for photographic puritans: "You can do whatever you want - as long as you don´t have any fun!" Or to be a little bit more serious: It's the subject and the composition that defines the aspect ratio, not the camera maker.

Another reason to compose loosely in camera is if you expect to alter geometry; such as straightening verticals, other perspective correction, or even just rotation. Too many times I have composed too tightly in camera, so that important details are so close to the edges that applying rotation or perspective correction will push those details outside the frame. The higher megapixel sensors today do make it easier to compose loosely for those reasons and also for all of the reasons you mentioned like aspect ratio flexibility, and still have enough pixels left over after cropping and geometric corrections.

The "mugshot" think cracked me up! Guilty as charged!

Just disregard anything the "purists" say--they take the spontaneity and fun out of photography.

I'm somewhat of an old school photographer in the sense that most of my work was done on Leicas, Speed Graphics, Panon and Widelux panoramic cameras, Hasselblads, and Sinar Bron monorails. All on film... I was lucky enough to hang out in NYC back in the 80s with fellows like Bob Schwalberg, who was a writer for Popular Photography in the 50s and 60s, (he was Senior Technical Editor for them the year I was born, 1956) and who also worked for Leica (E.Leitz, Wetzlar) in product design, and public relations. He once told me a quote, from some famous photo editor that he knew back in the day, (I wish I remembered who it was) but the quote was quite memorable in regard to cropping. The pronouncement was thus: "The world's greatest photos are created at the precise instant that... ...the grease pen touches the contact sheet." Of course, most people, during that pregnant pause, would think "...the precise instant that the finger trips the shutter"; and we know of course that that is also true. But from the outlook of this photo editor, it was his art to discover the most striking images hiding on those tiny contact sheets. Being friends with Bob was like being friends with a living, breathing encyclopedia of photography. He also happened to be quite an excellent photographer, and he must have had a similar opinion of my work, because he recommended me for quite a few assignments, and also was most generous with giving me his ongoing critique, for which I will be eternally grateful. I'm frequently reminded of funny little anecdotes of his like this one, when I'm reading or watching content on photography. BTW, greetings to you in Canada, Simon! I was born in Toronto, although I moved to NYC in the mid 80s, and have finally ended up living in Arizona. I haven't had the pleasure of visiting Canada in quite a few years, but I still feel my roots there, more and more as I get older... I've subscribed to your channel, and look forward to more of your essays.

Someone with some sense, finally! Shooting wide and cropping saved me a couple of years of editing as an event/wedding photographer when I missed (even slightly) in camera. Having room to pick the best lines upon further reflection also improved my work. Thanks -a random mike

I had a neighbor that was artistically inclined. When I would get a couple rolls back from processing I would take them over and she would go through them and give critique. She often used her hands to crop images to see if they could be improved. It really helped me with composition. I kind of wish I had stuck with it. I was kind of expecting this to be a discussion on why leaving extra room in photos wasn't a bad thing. I was not disappointed. Thanks.

Very helpful video ❤ … there is one comment I have. The moment someone decides to take a picture is already the moment this very person is doing a crop. It does not matter whether the crop is applied „in camera“ or in post. The only difference is that in post I may have additional options assuming some care was applied with the composition out of the camera.

My Dad taught me the basics of photography. He isn't big into editing, but the one thing he did do a lot of was cropping. He didn't care too much if he shot slightly too wide or slightly off center because he could fix it in post (as long as there was enough wiggle room). I learned to photograph with a similar style and quite frankly, I kinda like the freedom it gives me vs having to set up the perfect composition every time.

After we got our wedding photos back, I noticed a whole load of nice candid moments that had occurred in parts of various photos. Cropping to pull out a "photo within a photo" worked amazingly and they ended up being some of our favourite photos of the day. If you have enough resolution to do it, it's always worth looking around your photos for any unintentional keepers.

Cropping for composition is an essential learning curve. I’ve only recently started photography and have taken lots of photos that I thought were interesting only to find that cropping them makes them better, so I have started to learn from that and now composing the shots better. Never be afraid to do something that helps you become better, just because the practice is ridiculed by others. Thanks for this video, much appreciated 🙏🏻

What a great mentor teacher and overall great host! Thank you for your priceless information!

As a motorsports fan/photographer I totally agree it is almost impossible to shoot moving race cars with out some cropping to get a good finished photo. Your photos of the whale with the boat in the background reminded me. We visited N.S. in late September and got on a whale watching boat out of East Ferry, the last of the season. We saw no less than 10 Hump Backs, Seals and some Bald Eagle. Lots of great photos. Thank you for your inspiring videos.

Went out for a shoot today, I could hear Simon’s voice in my ear nearly every time I framed a shot. Very sound advice, thank you!

I’ve been watching your videos for some months now, as fairly new to photography. I subscribe to several YouTubers, but you are by the far the one from which I get most value - keep it coming please!