cropping - how much is acceptable

would love to hear what others views are on cropping images. is it acceptable to crop half of the image. obviously for showing to your family and friends this would be fine, but how much cropping would be acceptable for a UWP competition. what would be the minimum dimensions in pixels that could be entered into a serious competition.

would love to hear what others views are on cropping images. is it acceptable to crop half of the image. obviously for showing to your family and friends this would be fine, but how much cropping would be acceptable for a UWP competition. what would be the minimum dimensions in pixels that could be entered into a serious competition.

Depends on the contest and catagory. Some will permit cropping some will not (usually based on catagory) and will set forth pixel dimensions andd sizes. So if you crop alot and need to expand to get the minimum may degrade the images

Crop in the view finder.

(the closer to full frame in the original image the better)

Zoom with your fins.

(less water between lens and subject = better image quality: sharpness, color, detail, etc.)

Shoot the lens you have mounted.

(not the one you _wish_ you had mounted)

Minimum image dimensions depend on what's spec'd for the competition.

(some comps request the RAW file; looking for camera skill instead of image editing skill)

Many competition judges can tell if an image has been cropped by 30% or more (Depth of field, Image quality, etc.).

Most of the time, the final image matters more than whether or not it was cropped to achieve the image.

Take Care,

ChrisS

Crop in the view finder.

(the closer to full frame in the original image the better)

 

Zoom with your fins.

(less water between lens and subject = better image quality: sharpness, color, detail, etc.)

 

Shoot the lens you have mounted.

(not the one you _wish_ you had mounted)

You know, we don't really need to read this, and it isn't always possible to nail the image exactly, particularly with wide-angle lenses and smaller viewfinders. Unless there is a competition rule that says not to crop, I suggest using good software to crop up to 1/3 of the image area away, which usually preserves reasonable quality. Resizing with good software can still give a nice, sharp image.

Tim

B)

cheers Tim.

it isnt something that i often do, i do try and get the shot correct through the lens, but sometimes it just isnt possible to get the right composition. i read all the time regarding thirds and sometimes it isnt possible to acheive this through the lens. a slight cropping as you suggested would allow the image to look better.

also i have some macro shots that look a lot better and more detail is seen when i crop 15 - 20 %.

i was just intrested as to whether all of the pro's shots we see are full frame or have been cropped slightly to give a more pleasant image.

I hope that it's not a calumny, but I believe that Linda Pitkin is a keen cropper, to perfect her images.

Tim

B)

I hope that it's not a calumny, but I believe that Linda Pitkin is a keen cropper, to perfect her images.

 

Tim

 

calumny, i didnt have a clue what it meant. i had do a google to educate myself.

i rarely crop but thats me, i also get to dive more than most people and therefore have more opportunities to shoot a particular subject so i am lucky that way. I teach people who are beginners also not to crop.. but that is not because i am against cropping, it is because i am trying to teach them to get closer! haha (At the end of the class, after much fake humming and hawing, i let them crop , but don't tell anyone..)

If you, me, or the next person wants to crop our images then it is entirely up to you, there is no steadfast rule about it. Its your image and you can do what you like with it, its your eye and your art, no one can tell you if its right or wrong. Do with it as you like is what i would say. And don't let anyone tell you that its wrong to do so... but if someone asks then honesty about cropping should be stated. I will state if i have cropped an image or not

I believe 20% or less seems to be a contest average.

I think the answer here is: ' It depends....', and really this runs along the lines of to use Photoshop or not argument.

If the photo is for a competition, then you have to follow the rules, and that's why I usually land up entering in the categories that allow cropping etc.

My approach is this - first do everything within my skill level to get the best I can in camera, then do everything necessary to make the best final image I can in post processing, and this includes cropping.

Obviously the less cropping one has to do the less one compromises on image quality.

Another point is that it happens quite frequently in my experience that playing with crops, creates different images that I may not have considered when I originally took the photograph.

Another point is that it happens quite frequently in my experience that playing with crops, creates different images that I may not have considered when I originally took the photograph.

As you mentioned although it is good to get the image as you want it in the shot itself, but I agree with you in that I do not think it is a bad thing to leave some room. Part of it was from me shooting slide film and making prints where the edges would not print or where it would otherwise be too tight for the shot. And some of it is that I do like having some room to crop for the reason you mentioned and sometimes if the shot is too tight on something that is moving you can cut things off. Easier to crop a bit then curse about it later

Of course if a contest requires no cropping, well that is what is required. But for many other uses some cropping is not a bad thing and with the larger megapixel cameras nowadays not as much of a concern for quality (discounting whether you want a certain effect from a WA which you may lose with cropping or other creative aspects of not cropping.)

This is really an easy question. Crop all you want. If you shot a pygmy with a 10.5 mm, go ahead and crop it just the way you want. There is obvious image degradation when overdone, but that is your choice.

How much contrast adjustment is acceptable? Cropping is just another artistic choice for the final product.

The world doesn't always fit the dimensions of your sensor.

One of the best photos ever on Wetpixel was the submarine panorama. That would be kind of like reverse cropping. It didn't fit his sensor dimensions. Is it wrong or unacceptable?

Measuring the way we capture an image is the old way. Evaluating the final product is the new way.

Measuring the way we capture an image is the old way. Evaluating the final product is the new way.

Very nicely stated; but then I would hardly expect less from the articulate gentleman from Dallas.

The world doesn't always fit the dimensions of your sensor.

I agree. Not every image is best suited for the 3:2 (or 4:3) aspect ratio. For some subjects I like 1:1 or 2:1. The only way you are going to achieve this is to crop.

I hope that it's not a calumny, but I believe that Linda Pitkin is a keen cropper, to perfect her images.

 

Tim

 

B)

Just to set the record straight, I rarely crop (except where needed for a different format, e.g in projection).

Linda

Just to set the record straight, I rarely crop (except where needed for a different format, e.g in projection).

Linda

My humble apologies, it was obviously a calumny. I had better not name the (printed) source that first made this comment...

Tim

My humble apologies, it was obviously a calumny. I had better not name the (printed) source that first made this comment...

 

Tim

No problem Tim! And it's not that I've anything against cropping, might even have have suggested it long ago as something novel to try with film images. But you can't be afford to be coy about your source if you want to be believed.

Linda

Look at it this way, cropping is a waste of data (the cropped bit). I ALWAYS try to get as close to my final output image in-camera but if I can't.... well so be it. Image capture is only the first part of the process so it has to be regarded as a start point. Get bogged down with self-imposed structures and you will inevitably limit your own output imagery.

As for competitions (I rarely bother with them so I'm no expert) I'd assume that each will have its own rules/parameters/whatever and if you follow them then your image is acceptable for that competition.