Harvesting The Crop

In this post, we’re talking about how to make a good picture better though the use of cropping. The “harvest” is a better picture though the use of the techniques in this article.

So what is the perfect crop? The one that creates the strongest image – generally the crop that fills the frame with the subject. Remember the old advice of fill the frame? That advice is just as good today as it was in the past.

In any picture, there are many potentially better, or at the very least, different pictures. Framing as you shoot and cropping once the image is in your computer are two ways to find other, perhaps better, pictures in a scene or image.

Cropping

There are two types of cropping, in-camera and after-the-fact. Cropping in the camera involves using something as a frame around a scene. The frame can be natural or manmade. Natural framing could be overhanging tree branches, a gap between two boulders, a natural arch, etc. Manmade framing might be a doorway, arch, open window, bridge or a gap between two buildings. By framing an image, the field of view is more limited than without framing and it thereby draws the viewer’s eye right to the subject. Framing can be applied to just the sides of the scene in the viewfinder or it can also involve the top of the scene.

Framing
As I said above, usually framing is used to draw the viewer’s eye into the picture, however, it can also be used to hide a distracting element within a scene such as powerlines, waste receptacles or anything attracting attention away from the main subject.

Vertical or Horizontal?

Another consideration when framing a shot is to ask yourself if this shot is better framed vertically or horizontally. Long, tall subjects tend to look better framed vertically. You can also crop in a camera by using a zoom telephoto lens. As you increase the focal length of the lens, the angle of view gets narrower. By reducing the angle of view, you are reducing the amount of negative space around your subject and are thereby cropping the photo.


In-camera cropping
In-camera cropping is preferable to cropping after-the-fact because photos cropped in the camera gives you a full size photo to work with. For those times when cropping in the camera is not practicable, cropping after-the-fact is a viable, and sometimes the preferred, option.

After-the-fact
There are several other times when you may want to crop an image after-the-fact. You can crop in the computer to straighten a tilted horizon, or to reposition the subject in the scene using the Rule of Thirds. Several image-editing programs allow you to specify a standard print size. So you can take the image size on the screen and crop it down to a standard print size.

To crop in Photoshop, first open your image. Next, with your left mouse button, click on the marquee tool. Move your cursor to the upper left part of the open image that you want to keep.

With the left mouse button, click and drag down and to the right creating a rectangle. When you get it the size you want, release the mouse button. Now, move your cursor to the top-line menu and click on Image and then Crop.

Your image will now be the size of the rectangle you formed using the Marquee tool. The cropping tool shows up as a rectangle and you can move that rectangle over your photo to create a crop you deem the best.

What you are actually doing is cropping to eliminate nonessential or distracting elements within your image. You can also crop to a print-size photo, such as a 4” X 6” from a larger size image in your computer.

With Adobe’s Photoshop Elements software, you can crop a photo down to different photo sizes by specifying the height and width from the Crop screen. Once rectangle appears on your computer screen, use your left mouse button and move the rectangle to where you want it.  Click on the green checkmark on the bottom right corner of the image.The image is now cropped to the size you indicated and with just the part of the image inside the rectangle.

Another reason to crop is to isolate action. With action shooting, you don’t always have the time to switch lenses. So, as a result, you have extraneous elements around your actual subject. In these cases, take the image and then crop down to just the right amount of action. Lastly, you may want to crop to create a more compelling message or for artistic effect. Usually this last crop is most useful when you have a specific use for that image such as on a web site or in a newsletter.

Cropping, both in the camera before you take the picture and after-the-fact, once the image is in the computer, are tools to make good pictures great. Here is a great video on the cropping process.

If you liked this article, visit our Sunlight Digital Photography website for more tips and techniques. To further your digital photography skills, consider purchasing one of our digital photography ebooks. All of them are instantly downloadable, so you can start reading right away.