How often do you crop your images? Do you leave the final image as is once it’s recorded on the camera or do you cut unwanted portions of the photograph in the post-production? According to professional photographer and a star of AdoramaTV Youtube channel, David Bergman, he gets to crop his images in post 9 0f 10 times.
There are several reasons of why you might want to crop your image.
First, if your image has too many elements that make it hard for a viewer to focus on the main subject, cut those out.
Second, if you are shooting from the distance, your subject will appear too small on a photograph, and cropping zooms it back in to be front and center of your composition.
Third, if your camera’s horizontal or vertical level is off and the image looks tilted, cropping will come in handy as an easy fix.
Fourth, If you were free framing your subjects while the shoot but then decided to place it on photograph according to rule of thirds – cropping will make it possible for you.
If you are cropping a photograph with a model, DO NOT cut parts of model’s body off the frame.
In general, you don’t want to make a cut right where something bends any way – knee and elbow is NOT a good choice for a cut – your model will look like he/she has undergone amputation.
It’s much better to crop mid thigh instead of at the knee.
Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV: