Photography Techniques at Weddings for Novices - Properly Cropping Your Images
One of the most important things in taking a great picture is where to crop your subject. In the industry there are certain standards: full length, 3/4 length, close ups, etc. What are the factors for deciding what stays in the photo and what is cropped out? This article is deals with different methods for cropping your images to make your portraits look more professional and more attractive.
To crop a photo there are two methods: cropping while you are shooting (in camera), and cropping later on the computer (post-production). Cropping while you are shooting, or in camera, is probably the best method. This is because it fully utilizes the maximum resolution of your camera. When you are shooting, you are actively deciding just what stays in your photo, and what is cropped out of your photo by carefully framing your subject. As you shoot an image of your subject's face for example, you focus just on the face and not on the entire body which you plan to crop out later in photoshop. This photo will have the original resolution that was recorded by your camera.
Though cropping in camera is the preferred method, there are times when it just isn't possible. This is where cropping in post production comes in handy. Imagine yourself taking pictures of a very quick action at an event, so quick that you do not have time to carefully compose the photo.
Examples of this might be many people fast dancing at the reception, or people jumping to catch the bouquet or garter. This is ok. Just shoot and try to capture the moment, then later you can crop your image with Photoshop or another similar photo editing program. But, as stated earlier, you lose some resolution quality to your final image.
Now that we have gone over the two different ways to crop a photo we can now move on to how to crop correctly. What do you decide to leave in frame, and what do we crop out of the image? It's easiest to begin with where we shouldn't crop. You should never try to crop a subject at the articulations, that is, the joints, ankles, knees, or waist.
Many are well aware of the full length shot where the subject's entire body is in frame, with a little space left below the feet and above the top of the head. Another type of portrait is the 3/4 length portrait. To compose this portrait have the top of the subject's thigh as the bottom edge, and a bit of space above the head as the top of the image.
Moving along we have the head and shoulders length portrait. This is done by framing the subject with the upper chest as the bottom edge of the image, and once again a small space above the head will be the top edge of the image.
The last type of portrait is also the most complicated, the close up of the face. As you may have seen in countless fashion magazines or photos online, these portraits for the most part tend to be more artistic. Because of this there are no hard and strict rules for cropping. My advice to you is to study the genre of facial close ups and choose a style of cropping that best suits your photography, and then expand from there.
If you new to wedding photography keep with it! I hope this tip helps you out at your next wedding. Good Luck.
To crop a photo there are two methods: cropping while you are shooting (in camera), and cropping later on the computer (post-production). Cropping while you are shooting, or in camera, is probably the best method. This is because it fully utilizes the maximum resolution of your camera. When you are shooting, you are actively deciding just what stays in your photo, and what is cropped out of your photo by carefully framing your subject. As you shoot an image of your subject's face for example, you focus just on the face and not on the entire body which you plan to crop out later in photoshop. This photo will have the original resolution that was recorded by your camera.
Though cropping in camera is the preferred method, there are times when it just isn't possible. This is where cropping in post production comes in handy. Imagine yourself taking pictures of a very quick action at an event, so quick that you do not have time to carefully compose the photo.
Examples of this might be many people fast dancing at the reception, or people jumping to catch the bouquet or garter. This is ok. Just shoot and try to capture the moment, then later you can crop your image with Photoshop or another similar photo editing program. But, as stated earlier, you lose some resolution quality to your final image.
Now that we have gone over the two different ways to crop a photo we can now move on to how to crop correctly. What do you decide to leave in frame, and what do we crop out of the image? It's easiest to begin with where we shouldn't crop. You should never try to crop a subject at the articulations, that is, the joints, ankles, knees, or waist.
Many are well aware of the full length shot where the subject's entire body is in frame, with a little space left below the feet and above the top of the head. Another type of portrait is the 3/4 length portrait. To compose this portrait have the top of the subject's thigh as the bottom edge, and a bit of space above the head as the top of the image.
Moving along we have the head and shoulders length portrait. This is done by framing the subject with the upper chest as the bottom edge of the image, and once again a small space above the head will be the top edge of the image.
The last type of portrait is also the most complicated, the close up of the face. As you may have seen in countless fashion magazines or photos online, these portraits for the most part tend to be more artistic. Because of this there are no hard and strict rules for cropping. My advice to you is to study the genre of facial close ups and choose a style of cropping that best suits your photography, and then expand from there.
If you new to wedding photography keep with it! I hope this tip helps you out at your next wedding. Good Luck.
About the Author:
Kevin Heslin is one of the foremost Wedding and Commercial Photographers in Costa Rica. Besides commercial and wedding photography, Kevin also specializes in Travel and Cultural Portraits. To see more photo tips click on his blog Costa Rica Photographer Or to see photos of his weddings in Costa Rica, or travel and cultural photography in Central America check out his website Costa Rica Photography. This article, Photography Techniques at Weddings for Novices - Properly Cropping Your Images is released under a creative commons attribution license.
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