What's with no cropping?

[blindrobert]

Okay - maybe (probably) this is a noob question, but what's with NOT cropping? I get it if the image just doesn't need cropping, but there seem to be more than a few of people who make it a point of honor to NEVER crop.

To put in terms more familiar to me - is this like riding your fixed gear bike in the city with no brakes? Remove the margin of error for the sake of demonstrating skill/vision/proficiency?

(I suppose, if we are talking about photojournalism it makes sense to never crop since it could be construed as manipulating the information you are presenting.)

 

[Schlapp]

It is merely an affectation.

 

[ricnak]

i think cropping is like crapping - no one likes to admit to it


must be something about using a rangefinder.... since getting one ... i really struggle with horizons

 

[john neal]

It's a conspiracy that is supposed to convince the audience that the perpetrator is as good as HCB, Robert Capa or (insert your photographic hero here....).

 

[jsrockit]

Well, I'm of the opinion that you have your frame in the camera, so why use it loosely. Does that mean I never crop? No. However, why not just try to get it right in camera? It isn't that hard really as long as you pay attention to your frame edges (and not only the center of your frame). Obviously rangefinders are not that precise, so you may have to crop a little of the edges to get to where you thought you'd be. That said, there are no rules except the ones you choose to follow.

 

[semilog]

I never, ever crop, except when I crop.

 

[GSNfan]

I crop with digital, where I have to fix the barrel distortion, or straighten the horizon. With film I don't crop, because I'm not sure what if the cropped part is actually the best part of the photo.

 

[Sparrow]

there's always a fundamentalist or two banging on about something ... sometimes it's cropping

 

[BillBingham2]

I always try to shot full frame what ever the format I'm shooting.

It feels better and Double Negative is right, more pixels or sliver bits in the image help.

B2 (;->

 

[DougK]

I try to get the framing I want in camera because I'm lazy and I really hate spending time post-processing. However, if a slight crop will make the photo better, then I have no problem doing so.

 

[dovi]

Real Men Dont Crop!

Real Men Dont Crop!

lol.

The way I shoot there i need to factor in parallax so I tend to shoot a little wider to make sure I can crop to the scene I like later.

Enjoy yourself either way!

 

[btgc]

In some countries cropping simply isn't common.

 

[Tom A]

If I feel that the picture improves with cropping - I crop. I try to shoot for full frame - but that doesn't work all the time ( to wide a lens on the camera for the subject, not enough time to get closer etc) - there is nothing sacred about it. If you do wet prints and want black borders - it is easier if you dont crop - less hassle of making mats etc. I like black borders as it "holds" the picture together somewhat.
The problem is that it became a bit of a "fetish" with Rf cameras - and they are notoriously bad for precise framing as the "coverage" varies with subject distance, lens etc. Precise framing is more of a SLR advantage - Nikon F with its 100% view shown on the groundglass.

 

[Mudman]

Sometimes when I'm moving fast I like to shoot wide so I can make sure I get all of the action in the frame, and then I crop afterwards to get down to what I was really aiming for. When I have the luxury of time, I use the whole frame.

 

[t6un]

I think it is one way to give an aura of "live recording" to the photography. The little surprises at the edges will often boost the strong main composition, rather than destroy it.
Cropping wide angle images may also have a side effect of givig them an unnatural, shift-lens look.

 

[Todd Frederick]

Whats so sacred about a 24x36 format....or 4x5, or 5x7, or 6x9...or 6x6...........and on and on.

Cropping is a part of the photographic creative process.

Rigidly refusing to crop is just another manifestation of obsessive compulsive disorder !!! 😀

 

[oftheherd]

I have never understood the concept of never cropping. I try to fill the frame, but if you shoot 35mm and print 8x10, you either crop the negative or the print. Also, shooting 6x6 and printing 8x10 rather requires cropping. I just do what I think it takes to make a good photo.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

When I was shooting film, if I didn't have to crop, I would often leave a border in, to show the very edges of the frame, a la Diane Arbus. It adds a certain frisson, knowing that you are seeing something closer to what the photographer saw while shooting, rather than what he saw later, after thinking it over and deciding how it looked best.

No point perhaps in being doctrinaire about it either way, but it has a certain effect. As for digital shots, or for people who never show the edges of the frame, it hardly matters whether you cropped or not, from the viewer's perspective.

 

[t6un]

Whats so sacred about a 24x36 format....or 4x5, or 5x7, or 6x9...or 6x6...........and on and on.

The good thing about them is they are standardized, easy to mount, easy to remember and pre-visualize...
Any photograph is cropped, at least once. And "overcropping" or any other editing habit can become as obsessive as "never cropping."

 

[igi]

Crop when you want... but always take into consideration your printing size.