Printing square format non square.

moose10101 said:

Half of my 35mm shots end up being printed square. I let the subject dictate the ratio, not the camera.

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I guess what I do is work with the proportions of the film/camera I have with me to find scenes to get onto film. When using the Rolleicord, I am looking for square images. If I am carrying the 8x10, I am looking for images that fill the 8x10 proportions of the film holder -- but also for images that fill a 4x10 proportions since I also carry a modified darkslide that gives me two 4x10s on an 8x10 sheet of film.

So if I am walking around with the Rolleicord and see a "4x10" image, I wave at it, say, "see ya next time!" and move on and continue looking for square images. There are more out there than I have time to photograph and print, anyway.

moose10101 said:

Half of my 35mm shots end up being printed square. I let the subject dictate the ratio, not the camera.

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If half of your subjects end up being printed square, then perhaps you should be using a square format. As to letting the subject dictate the ratio, you mean your eye dictates the ratio. However, if your eye is attuned to a specific format ratio, it may help to determine a given composition within that aspect ratio and improve your percentage of aesthetic capture.

I find that the more I shoot 6x6 and 4"x5" the more the compositions become square or very squarish.

Although I will crop an image however it needs to be done, I always try to compose for whatever format I am using. Working within a format's restrictions is part of the fun, like looking for patterns of color vs patterns of light and dark.

blansky said:

I shot a Hasselblad professionally for 35 years and shot thousands of pictures and never printed one square, ever.

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That explains much.