Do you crop your photos?

[Philippe-Georges]

Here's a fairly extreme example of cropping that I've just discovered. It's from "English Cottages and Farmhouses", a collaboration between historian/writer Olive Cook and her husband, the photographer Edwin Smith. The book as a whole is wonderful, although I wish the page size was larger and that the photos were less cruelly handled. The original of the one at bottom right of this page can be viewed here. That comparison is extreme enough, but Smith did another, wider version with a seated figure, which can also be seen here. It's wonderful. Why in the world would anyone use less than that full picture?
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This is what I was trying to say all the time, I wouldn't be surprised if the publisher/editor/graphic designer had a hand in this...
The original framing of the seated figure has more 'discours', to my humble opinion although...

 

[snusmumriken]

I wouldn't be surprised if the publisher/editor/graphic designer had a hand in this...

I would say the photographer had a share in it, through the way he framed (cropped in camera) the shot that was published. It's possible that the book designer (Pauline Baines, quite well known for her work) never saw the bigger version with the seated figure. Or that she preferred the humourless-looking lady at the top of the page and thought two figures sitting by fireplaces was too much.

 

[VinceInMT]

... It's liberating, I do what I want.

However, the function of Internet forums and social media is to tell you that you are doing it wrong.

 

[faberryman]

Why in the world would anyone use less than that full picture?

Probably because the book pages are vertical and the full picture is horizontal, and the person cropping it lacked aesthetic sensibility. He didn't do the photographer any favors by running the images all the way to the edge of the paper either.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

I would say the photographer had a share in it, through the way he framed (cropped in camera) the shot that was published. It's possible that the book designer (Pauline Baines, quite well known for her work) never saw the bigger version with the seated figure. Or that she preferred the humourless-looking lady at the top of the page and thought two figures sitting by fireplaces was too much.

Yes, Jonathan, again we see how unfounded assuming and viewing from a distance can be...
My apologies to the photographer and the designer if I misinterpreted their professional insights.

BTW, a very nice website you have!

 

[faberryman]

Remember cropping? Here's a example: a "renowned" photographer, who shall nameless, is offering prints (inkjet) of photos taken with a digital Leica (24x36 or 2:3) in three sizes: 20x30 (2:3), 30x40 (3:4) and 40x60 (2:3). So if you go for the 30x40, you get a cropped version. Five inches whacked off the long end. What's that all about? Fitting the photograph to a standard size paper? Aesthetic integrity?

 

[L Gebhardt]

Remember cropping? Here's a example: a "renowned" photographer, who shall nameless, is offing prints (inkjet) of photos taken with a digital Leica (24x36 or 2:3) in three sizes: 20x30 (2:3), 30x40 (3:4) and 40x60 (2:3). So if you go for the 30x40, you get a cropped version. What's that all about? Fitting the photograph to a standard size paper? Aesthetic integrity?

Is that the paper size with differing margins to keep the aspect ratio the same, or different aspect ratios to fill the full paper?

 

[faberryman]

Is that the paper size with differing margins to keep the aspect ratio the same, or different aspect ratios to fill the full paper?

It is unclear. Could go either way. You are not asking me to give him the benefit of the doubt, are you? If so, selling a 26.66x40 print as a 30x40 is a real problem. For all I know, he may have cropped images for the 20x30 and 40x60 versions but kept the 2:3 aspect ratio. You just never know with these cropper guys.

Also available:

"This work is the first to offer NFTs as licensing tokens. NFT owners earn a percentage of all streaming royalties, including when the artist licenses the work to additional streaming platforms."

The initial streaming platform is SuperRare. I need to read up on it. The photographer's images there appear to be presented in a 2:3 aspect ratio.

 

[L Gebhardt]

It is unclear. Could go either way. You are not asking me to give him the benefit of the doubt, are you? If so, selling a 26.66x40 print as a 30x40 is a real problem. For all I know, he may have cropped images for the 20x30 and 40x60 versions but kept the 2:3 aspect ratio. You just never know with these cropper guys.

Also available:

"This work is the first to offer NFTs as licensing tokens. NFT owners earn a percentage of all streaming royalties, including when the artist licenses the work to additional streaming platforms."

The initial streaming platform is SuperRare. I need to read up on it. The photographer's images there appear to be presented in a 2:3 aspect ratio.

Always best assume the best of people. I see nothing wrong with printing an image on standard sized paper with a minimum margin For one dimension. For example a 24x36 on 30x40 paper with 2” minimum margins (3 in the other dimensio). The customer does need to know what the are buying so all the details should be spelled out clearly.

The NFT issue is a much more concerning thing.

 

[L Gebhardt]

Also, nothing wrong with cropping in my book. My picture of a plain brick wall looks equally good as a 6x17 or 6x6

 

[Pieter12]

Remember cropping? Here's a example: a "renowned" photographer, who shall nameless, is offering prints (inkjet) of photos taken with a digital Leica (24x36 or 2:3) in three sizes: 20x30 (2:3), 30x40 (3:4) and 40x60 (2:3). So if you go for the 30x40, you get a cropped version. Five inches whacked off the long end. What's that all about? Fitting the photograph to a standard size paper? Aesthetic integrity?

It would be helpful if you could give us more information rather than a vague "renowned" photographer. A link? The exact wording of the items offered for sale, like image size vs paper size, borderless, matted, images to illustrate cropping if it is indeed cropped. There are many possibilities.

 

[faberryman]

The photographer is Robert LeBlanc. The portfolio in question is Gloryland. The photographs are of Pentecostal snake handlers in West Virginia. Here is the link:

GLORYLAND — ROBERT LEBLANC

This NFT collection will consist of 40 photographs, all 1 of 1 edition. GLORYLAND will be available through SuperRare on the Ethereum blockchain. GLORYLAND was awarded the Fellowship Futures Grant. The grant supported the first mint of the collection and acquisition for the Fellowship estate. Fellow

www.photosbyrobertleblanc.com

Note that while many of the images shown are in a 2:3 aspect ratio, others are not. Yet all are offered in 20x30, 30x40, and 40x60 sizes. So if not cropped to fit, the images will come with varying sized borders. One image, the one of a young man with what looks to be snake bite damage to his hand, wrist, and arm, appears to be a photograph of an older photograph. I guess if the snake handler who was injured or the person who took the photograph, or their respective heirs, gave permission for Robert LeBlanc to photograph it and sell copies of it, there is no problem. I see no prices listed, so I guess if you have to ask, you can't afford the prints.

 

[Pieter12]

The photographer is Robert LeBlanc. The portfolio in question is Gloryland. The photographs are of Pentecostal snake handlers in West Virginia. Here is the link:

GLORYLAND — ROBERT LEBLANC

This NFT collection will consist of 40 photographs, all 1 of 1 edition. GLORYLAND will be available through SuperRare on the Ethereum blockchain. GLORYLAND was awarded the Fellowship Futures Grant. The grant supported the first mint of the collection and acquisition for the Fellowship estate. Fellow

www.photosbyrobertleblanc.com

Note that while many of the images shown are in a 2:3 aspect ratio, others are not. Yet all are offered in 20x30, 30x40, and 40x60 sizes. So if not cropped to fit, the images will come with varying sized borders. One image, the one of a young man with what looks to be snake bite damage to his hand, wrist, and arm, appears to be a photograph of an older photograph. I guess if the snake handler who was injured or the person who took the photograph, or his heirs, gave permission for Robert LeBlanc to photograph it and sell copies of it, there is no problem. I see no prices listed, so I guess if you have to ask, you can't afford the prints.

Fahey/Klein is a respectable gallery and I would surmise that the different print sizes are to fit standard frames and mats. The borders most probably vary by the size of the prints rather than change the cropping.

I don't know if anyone had to give permission for the snake handler photo, it is being published as art. Despite the recent Andy Warhol Foundation/Lynn Goldsmith case, Richard Prince appropriates other's photos all the time.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Call the gallery to get cropping info. You have to anyway to get prices and to order.

 

[Pieter12]

Call the gallery to get cropping info. You have to anyway to get prices and to order.

I don't think anyone here is really interested in buying the photos. It is the question of principal. Not that the photographer can't crop the images anyway he sees fit, but offering different croppings would seem strange.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I learned to use the viewfinder to compose using the full field of view when I shot slides. Therefore for all formats I compose the the viewfinder and do not need to crop later.

 

[Pieter12]

There are instances when one cannot compose properly in the viewfinder. Such as not having a long enough lens or an immovable obstacle such as a wall or a river in the foreground with no way to elevate the camera to eliminate it. Would you rather forego a good, cropped photo on principal?

 

[cliveh]

If you go out and produce a painting of a landscape scene like Claude Monet, do you then go back to the studio, get out a pair of scissors and cut 3" off the side and bottom of your painting? Of course not, a photographer should compose in the given format of their choice.

 

[Pieter12]

If you go out and produce a painting of a landscape scene like Claude Monet, do you then go back to the studio, get out a pair of scissors and cut 3" off the side and bottom of your painting? Of course not, a photographer should compose in the given format of their choice.

Painters do crop/cut paintings and re-stretch them. But they have an advantage of being able to ignore, rearrange and change things to suit their taste. Willem de Kooning famously sketched on tracing paper and rearranged his compositions, even while in the middle of painting. Rembrandt's The Night Watch was originally larger and had to be cut down to fit the new space where it later hung. Of course, Rembrandt did not cut it down or was even alive at the time.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I don't think anyone here is really interested in buying the photos. It is the question of principal. Not that the photographer can't crop the images anyway he sees fit, but offering different croppings would seem strange.

I suggested to call the gallery to find out whether the pictures were cropped or that they were actually printed full size but would leave a white border on one side to fit the dimension of the paper. You don't need to actually buy the picture to get that information. Just ask the gallery.

 

[Sirius Glass]

There are instances when one cannot compose properly in the viewfinder. Such as not having a long enough lens or an immovable obstacle such as a wall or a river in the foreground with no way to elevate the camera to eliminate it. Would you rather forego a good, cropped photo on principal?

When that happens I adjust the format or focal length or both. Only in and act of desperation, will I photograph knowing that I have to crop it in the darkroom. There are enough other compositions in the world.

 

[Sirius Glass]

If you go out and produce a painting of a landscape scene like Claude Monet, do you then go back to the studio, get out a pair of scissors and cut 3" off the side and bottom of your painting? Of course not, a photographer should compose in the given format of their choice.

Yes this is so obvious to good photographers who eschew the crop, crop crowd.

 

[Pieter12]

Yes this is so obvious to good photographers who eschew the crop, crop crowd.

A painter or other artist has the advantage of being able to make sketches beforehand to determine and compare compositions and cropping. And the freedom to change anything and everything if he or she so wishes.

 

[Pieter12]

When that happens I adjust the format or focal length or both.

The luxury of having all that at hand.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The luxury of having all that at hand.

We are retired and have time and money to buy cameras and lenses that we could only dream about when we had to work.