Images & Crops

Travis · 10-01-2004, 01:30 AM

Selections from some recent shots with the 20D and 100mm macro

History:

I self-imposed a moratorium on cropping photos some time ago. There is much conventional wisdom in photography against the habit of cropping. The reason, I think, is to take away a crutch and force one to think about image composition rather than "shoot it now, fix it later."

Technically, there are also many faults with cropping. As an image gets cropped and blown up, so do its weaknesses. If it's not incredibly sharp, it will really show on a crop. If there's noise, the noise will be made much worse.

So, for the last year and a half or so, I have only cropped photos a handful of times, when it was clear afterward that a crop was the only way to salvage a photo for some reason.

With the new camera, I can get faster shutter speeds, i.e., sharper images, and with less noise- all thanks to the ISO noise handling.

So, after 18 months, I thought I'd try my hand at cropping a few. Here are the before-and-after results.

Sorry for the diatribe. A little history adds so much context though.

T

AFTER

BEFORE
(1/250, f/8. ISO 200, 420EX flash)

AFTER

BEFORE
(1/200, f/5.6, ISO 1600)

AFTER major crop (IMO too far, a good example)

AFTER

BEFORE
(1/25, f/11, ISO1600)

Barnacle Dave · 10-01-2004, 06:38 PM

Were you cropping at certain pixels? say 819x577
or were you resizing back to 819x577

or cropping down to 819x577 then saving and undoing history and making your original photo 817x577 and saving that one also?

For the web IMO you really would not see much of an issue as you would when printing the photo.

I love the photos though

Travis · 10-01-2004, 07:26 PM

Oh no, these are cropped to 2158x1438, then resized as usual.

T

Craig Manoukian · 10-01-2004, 09:00 PM

What software do you use for this exercise Travis?

Travis · 10-01-2004, 09:03 PM

Photoshop and the noise reduction software I posted last week.

Free noise reduction pgm

10-01-2004, 01:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
Travis Smilie Bartender Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 6,701 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Images & Crops Selections from some recent shots with the 20D and 100mm macro History: I self-imposed a moratorium on cropping photos some time ago. There is much conventional wisdom in photography against the habit of cropping. The reason, I think, is to take away a crutch and force one to think about image composition rather than "shoot it now, fix it later." Technically, there are also many faults with cropping. As an image gets cropped and blown up, so do its weaknesses. If it's not incredibly sharp, it will really show on a crop. If there's noise, the noise will be made much worse. So, for the last year and a half or so, I have only cropped photos a handful of times, when it was clear afterward that a crop was the only way to salvage a photo for some reason. With the new camera, I can get faster shutter speeds, i.e., sharper images, and with less noise- all thanks to the ISO noise handling. So, after 18 months, I thought I'd try my hand at cropping a few. Here are the before-and-after results. Sorry for the diatribe. A little history adds so much context though. T AFTER BEFORE (1/250, f/8. ISO 200, 420EX flash) AFTER BEFORE (1/200, f/5.6, ISO 1600) AFTER major crop (IMO too far, a good example) AFTER BEFORE (1/25, f/11, ISO1600) Last edited by Travis : 10-01-2004 at 01:36 AM.

10-01-2004, 06:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Barnacle Dave Serpent Star Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Arlington Texas Posts: 211 View Gallery Karma Komment	Were you cropping at certain pixels? say 819x577 or were you resizing back to 819x577 or cropping down to 819x577 then saving and undoing history and making your original photo 817x577 and saving that one also? For the web IMO you really would not see much of an issue as you would when printing the photo. I love the photos though __________________ aka: Nautilus Come Join Us http://www.reeffrontiers.com/images/...7_sig_logo.jpg

10-01-2004, 07:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
Travis Smilie Bartender Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 6,701 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Oh no, these are cropped to 2158x1438, then resized as usual. T __________________ Help build the Encyclopedia of ReefKeeping Find over 1400 Reef Aquarium Articles at The Reef Aquarium Index

10-01-2004, 09:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
Craig Manoukian Regular Guy Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Marina Del Ray, CA Posts: 18,352 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	What software do you use for this exercise Travis? __________________ Currently tankless. 20 Gallon mini reef with mated pair of Maroon Clowns given to Rougiem! 80 gallon reef given to Rougiem/Wooster HS.

10-01-2004, 09:03 PM	#5 (permalink)
Travis Smilie Bartender Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 6,701 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Photoshop and the noise reduction software I posted last week. Free noise reduction pgm __________________ Help build the Encyclopedia of ReefKeeping Find over 1400 Reef Aquarium Articles at The Reef Aquarium Index

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