Initial Composition vs. Standard Print Size

Hi all,

How do you all deal with standard print sizes (8"x10", 11x14, 16x20, etc.) - or do you? It seems that I've been shooting with the intent to frame my image as perfectly as I can in camera, only to then find that I need to crop the image to be able to print it to "standard" size, thus often loosing parts of the composition that I find to be critical to the overall impact of the image. I suppose one could make allowances for that in the initial composition when framing the image before the shot. If not, do any of you regularly print to non-standard dimensions?

Thanks for the advice!

Holger

Most of the good online printing places (Mpix, Pictopia) will let you print at the 3:2 ratio. Some will let you print at any ratio you want.

The main constraint is that pre-cut frames and mattes usually come in the standard sizes.

So if you are shooting to print, watch the left and right (or top and bottom if you're shooting verticals) and don't frame too tight.

Cheers

James

this really grinds my gears too, as I prefer to compose properly within the 3:2 frame, yet requests for 8x10's & 11x14's sometimes force me to mutilate the image.

Where I live, custom frames are expensive and pre-cut selection is limited, so I use alternate sized mattes. Put an 8x12" matte in an 11x14" frame instead of the 8x10" matte it comes with. My fav is framing a 12x18" print in a 16x20" frame, I find the boarder size much better than an 11x14" print.

there are also online stores that sell bulk frames & mattes in any ratio you want for a decent price.

I refuse let archaic frame ratios dictate my style of shooting. I prefer the semi-'widescreen' feel of a 3:2 ratio and composing to a frame-within-a-frame would only serve to complicate matters. Cheers,

Chris

- of course if you buy a new D3, its got a silly 5:4 ratio shooting mode...

This is something that I really struggled with when I started selling prints at art fairs and galleries. Like most other people I hate to crop my images and I don't. I've come up with some standard sizes that work well for me:

6 5/8 x 10, printed on 8 1/2 x 11, matted to 11 x 14

10 3/8 x 15 1/2, printed on 11x17 or 13x19, matted to 16x20

12 x 18, printed on 13x19, matted to 18x28

This way I can offer the customer a "standard" size without compromising my original image and I can use off the shelf frames. It does require you to use a custom mat but these can be purchases online at reasonable prices or you can do what I've started to do and cut your own custom mats. A 16x20 mat that I cut myself costs me less than $2.

I do crop, but recently I've been trying to keep the crops in the 3:2 ratio.

Luckily, a local company produces customised frames, mattes etc at very reasonable prices (not much use if you're not in the UK, I know).

I also have prints made onto standard sizes, carefully considering the white border that remains - sometimes it's a disaster...

Tim

B)

All,

Thanks for the input! I think I'll start shopping for some non-standard mats and frames. What truly drove this issue home for me was a recent comment by my wife. She had seen one of my recent landscape images (shot in vertical format) and realy liked it. It contained some minor foreground element to set the depth, a long and winding dirt road through a beautifu valley, and then some golden aspen in all their fall beauty in the background, offset by a perfect, dark blue sky. When I had it printed in a 5:4 ratio there was no way to fit all of the elements that made this image work. Of course, she didn't much care for the cropped print.

What also irks me is that office supply stores will sell "pro"-labeled photo print paper, yet it measures 8.5"x11". Laughable! I do hope I can find what I need on-line...

Holger

Holger, I print the image the way I want it to look and then sometimes I cut my own mats to match the aspect ratio that I am left with. Usually its the aspect ratio of my camera. I also purchase in bulk mats that are custom cut for me from the Matshop in Canada. http://www.matshop.com/ The Matshop has a software tool the MAToMATic that will allow you to down load your own jpegs and view them set in a virtual mat and frame to help with color selection. They have fair prices, are courteous, professional and knowledgeable about their products. I think that how you choose or not to crop an image is critical and feel that having an aspect ratio that matches the camera is an important starting point. Learning to cut mats is not so hard and I would recommended giving it a try if your working with a low volume or interesting aspect ratio such as a panoramic. Just a thought. VR Andy