Oh Crop! Finding the Simplicity in Your Photos

Simplicity.
In post or in viewfinder, sometimes less is more, because a photo without a focused subject, and I don't mean how sharp an image is, is one without purpose.

Have you ever been out in the field shooting and you think you have the perfect composition until you get the frame into post. You look at it on the bigger screen, tilt your head, square it up with your hands, and it just isn't what you thought it would look like while in the moment shooting. Maybe outside the camera it looks too busy, or the subject isn't placed where you want it. Perhaps, you caught a bunch of tree limbs in the corners, or the arrangement of objects didn't translate as well as between being there in-person versus in-image, but there is a part still staring back at you.

Here is an example of mine. One day driving home from work in Las Vegas I saw I church steeple with some high wispy clouds behind it. From my car window it looked visually interesting. So as I pulled up to the stop sign, I rolled down the window and quickly framed it and shot it. Absolutely it was rushed, unplanned and rough. Probably adequate for a "scouting" photo and reminder to go back and reshoot, but how often do we actually find the time to do that (another field note for another time). It was, as expected, completely unusable when I viewed the image in Lightroom. But, the steeple kept staring back me, and with a little straightening and tight crop, it went from the trash to my online portfolio.

Of course had I taken the time to plan this shot (or just return to the location) and use a lens with a longer reach (maybe my Tamron 70-200) and a tripod (Benro FGP28C), I wouldn't had to have cropped the hec out of it. The benefit to not having to crop is that you preserve the pixel-depth for printing. My original 6000x4000 pixel image is good for printing around 16x24 inches but cropped down to 1000x1000 pixels that quality is significantly reduced. Something to keep in mind during your crop if you plan on printing the final image.

Don't be afraid or talked out of cropping but be aware of its impact on printing. It's a useful technique while learning how to simplify your subject through the viewfinder as well as learning how to select the appropriate lens, zoom factor and other adjustments for the shot. With time, patience and a lot of practice you will eventually be able to accomplish this in camera the first time.

If you enjoyed this please give it a cheers, thumbs-up or like below. And, check out my YouTube series at https://vlog.jmgalleries.com.