Some portrait photographers often overlook the importance of image cropping. Surely, such things as makeup, hair, clothing, facial expression of your subject, the surroundings and the light are also important. Each of these elements play its own key role in the overall shot. However, cropping is quite a powerful tool that you can use to improve your images dramatically.
Cropping is easy. It can take only a couple of minutes. But if you do it right, you can turn an average photo into a stunning masterpiece.
It may be difficult to tell the difference between resizing and cropping. But both of these tools are necessary to master for pretty much anyone who shares images on social media or their website. Why? Because you will inevitably have to use them at some point or another. These two tools are key to preparing your visual content for publishing online or printing. If you don’t know the difference, you might end up with blurry printed out photos or images that have such a big file size that they barely load on your website; even if your visitors have a fast internet connection.
If you want to get better at image editing, you’ll need to learn what it means to resize an image and what it means to crop it. The better you understand this, the better results you’ll get.
It doesn’t matter if you want to share images on social media to promote your photography or some other business, you will inevitably come across such a thing as aspect ratio. At first, it might be slightly confusing and may even scare you. But in reality there’s nothing complicated or difficult about it. Let’s dive into the basics of aspect ratio and see what crucial things you’ll need to keep in mind.
What Does Aspect Ratio Mean?
Aspect ratio is the ratio of image’s width to its height. It’s usually written in the W:H format. For example, 3:2 or 4:3. The first number represents simplified units of width, while the second one – simplified units of height. Most full frame cameras have a sensor that’s 36x24mm, which means that when shooting, you’ll get images that have 3:2 or 2:3 aspect ratio.
Imagine that you took a great shot, but once you uploaded it to your computer, you realized that the composition is wrong or that there’s too much extra space around the subject. There’s no need to feel disappointed and think that your masterpiece is completely ruined. Fortunately, in the age of digital photography, cropping an image is incredibly easy. You can get rid of unnecessary bits and make your composition impeccable in just a few clicks.
Lina Thorne • Updated · Posted in Crop Photo
