Do you crop tight in-camera? Back in the film days, and with my early digital cameras that were fairly low resolution, I got in the habit of cropping tightly and refining the...

Ernie Misner Loc: Lakewood, WA

Back in the film days, and with my early digital cameras that were fairly low resolution, I got in the habit of cropping tightly and refining the composition in the camera. Now with my 36MP cameras I try to leave a bit of room around the composition in case I need to straighten the horizon line or have choices as to how I will crop the image. I noticed however that a very well known pro photographer said he crops exactly the way he wants the image to appear, in-camera. And that refining the composition later was a bit lazy. Wow, really? So what's the verdict, leave a little room to spare when shooting or crop tightly? One reason he gave was that when you have to crop later, it increases the lens compression and will appear slightly different. Thanks!

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Ernie Misner wrote:

... One reason he gave was that when you have to crop later, it increases the lens compression and will appear slightly different. Thanks!

Whatever else, that is not true. "Lens compression" has nothing to do with the camera, nor with the lens for that matter! It is strictly a matter of where you plant your feet.

I personally want to leave the framing slightly loose. I can crop it closer but can't put what was not recorded back in. 36 Megapixel sensors are really great!

Hangingon Loc: NW North Dakota

Apaflo wrote:

I can crop it closer but can't put what was not recorded back in!

I agree. I enjoy shooting sports and often regret not leaving more space around the main subject. A partial object sticking in a corner is worse than including all of it.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Ernie Misner wrote:

Back in the film days, and with my early digital c... (show quote)

I will crop tight unless I have a reason to crop a little loose. I would estimate 90% tight, 10% loose. Yes, one can lose some room for correction by going tight. But I feel one should shoot more than a one shot composition (if possible) and from as many points of view as time and subject allows. This, for me, usually returns at least one tight composition that leaves as little need for editing as possible.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I leave a little around the edges sometimes but not always. I should note that my cropping is not constrained to the camera aspect ratio so it is frequently not possible to frame the image exactly in camera and cropping is required in post.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

NO x 2
1. You cut aunt Sally's head off cameras always move when index finger pushes the button.
2. You would miss the murder occurring just to the left of aunt Sally. As in the movie Blowup. It was seen in the dark room enlargement... and the plot went on.

Heck, 3. Composition on my 27" screen is more easily done than on the 3" camera screen that you can barley see in the sunlight.

Now if you are talking about general zooming in, that is not what I consider to be defined as "close crop, Tight crop."

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

Ernie Misner wrote:

Back in the film days, and with my early digital c... (show quote)

My habits go back to the days of film when I would shoot as I wanted the final product to appear as I wanted. In other words I still crop before the shot but I am not locked in there. If the situation does not allow I will shoot and crop later but it is mostly cropping first.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I frame loosely in camera allowing for PP cropping

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

paulrph1 wrote:

My habits go back to the days of film when I would shoot as I wanted the final product to appear as I wanted. In other words I still crop before the shot but I am not locked in there. If the situation does not allow I will shoot and crop later but it is mostly cropping first.

Why, how; you only shot slides all the time? No darkroom photography for you? The 35mm film format is like digital, 2:3. Sure store machine prints can be 4x6". You never printed your own to 8x10", 11x14", 16x20"? You have to crop to go from say 8x12" to 8x10". Light sensitive photo enlarger printing paper basically only came in a few sizes, 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, 20x24. For others you had to either cut it to size, be lucky and find a box of a strange size like 8.5x11, or special order. None of these match the native "35mm" ratio of 2:3.

Even with film I sometimes left enough extra room or space to go from Landscape to Portrait format, especially when shooting 6x6cm, 6x7cm, and 4x5" film. Might have been tighter for 35mm, not allowing directional format change but some aesthetic cropping room. Like with digital, you can't crop or process what is not there.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Most of the time I crop for the shot, but have been bitten by horizons that are slightly off. So I try to leave a little bit of wiggle room.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

[quote=lamiaceae]Why, how; you only shot slides all the time? No darkroom photography for you? The 35mm film format is like digital, 2:3. Sure store machine prints can be 4x6". You never printed your own to 8x10", 11x14", 16x20"? You have to crop to go from say 8x12" to 8x10". Light sensitive photo enlarger printing paper basically only came in a few sizes, 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, 20x24. For others you had to either cut it to size, be lucky and find a box of a strange size like 8.5x11, or special order. None of these match the native "35mm" ratio of 2:3.

Even with film I sometimes left enough extra room or space to go from Landscape to Portrait format, especially when shooting 6x6cm, 6x7cm, and 4x5" film. Might have been tighter for 35mm, not allowing directional format change but some aesthetic cropping room. Like with digital, you can't crop or process what is not there
Thanks for all of the feckless twaddle. Things that are obvious to an experienced photographer. These things were all compensated for before the shot.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Ernie Misner wrote:

Back in the film days, and with my early digital c... (show quote)

Who cares what a well known pro photographer says or does?
Are you happy with the way you have been taking photos and afterwards have the choices you want?
Then I'd say, " Ignore that photographer and continue what you're doing!"

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Morning Star wrote:

Who cares what a well known pro photographer says or does?
Are you happy with the way you have been taking photos and afterwards have the choices you want?
Then I'd say, " Ignore that photographer and continue what you're doing!"

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

[quote=paulrph1]

lamiaceae wrote:

Thanks for all of the feckless twaddle.

Redundancy at it's best.

Ernie Misner Loc: Lakewood, WA

Morning Star wrote:

Who cares what a well known pro photographer says or does?
Are you happy with the way you have been taking photos and afterwards have the choices you want?
Then I'd say, " Ignore that photographer and continue what you're doing!"

Thanks for the interesting replies guys! In this instance I don't care what he said really, but on the other hand I have learned some good things from this and other working pros. I thought it would be fun to see how many crop tightly in-camera, and just as I thought, most do leave a bit of wiggle room. Thanks again!