JZA B1 wrote:
Square crop, rule of thirds, or something completely different?
How do you know which one to apply in any given situation? Any time-tested rules or just what looks best?
My camera is set so that images cover the full sensor, 6,000 x 4,000 pixels. I've set my finder, both the eyepiece and the screen on the back, so that the 'rule-of-thirds' grid lines are visible. And when needed, I can toggle on a the 'level' feature which helps when you need precise pitch and roll alignment.
As for the actual composure of an image, I'm probably not as careful as I should be, but I do watch for shadows and reflections but when it comes to image coverage, I generally shoot with a lettle extra space that would allow for some cropping during post-production. That is, I don't use the zoom for that. Now, I'll use the zoom if there's really some distant or small feature that I think it's critical that I have as much detail/resolution with respect to the feature as possible. That being said, I often expect to do some cropping, but even then, I try to keep it reasonable as I don't want the throw away any more of the resolution than I have to.
And yes, I shoot both landscape and portrait orientation as needed, although I've been known to crop for the opposite effect when I realize the need for it late in the game, that is, during post-production.
And when the subject matter lends itself, I do use the panoramic option on my camera as I do shoot a lot of landscapes. And that also means that I keep my wide-angle lens handy. My primary camera is an APS-format Sony a6500, and unless I need a truly long telephoto or am doing macro work, for which I have specialty lens, I generally stick to my 18-135mm 'normal' lens and a 10-18mm wide-angle. And for the record, rather than switching to a longer lens (despite always having a 55-210mm in the bottom of my field bag) I generally opt for using Sony's 'Clear Image Zoom' to give me a 2X boost with my 18-135mm lens (one of the 'Custom Buttons' is programmed to enable it).
Anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject, for what they're worth.