Cropping Proportions #photography

The links in this post may be affiliate links.  That means that if you click them and make a purchase, this site makes a commission.  It will have no impact on the price you pay or the experience of your purchase.

OK, so let's say I snapped this photo of Max on his first day of school (which I totally did).

Let's say my mom asked for a copy of it (which she totally does sometimes)

But she wants a 5×7. I need to keep my cropping proportions in mind when I'm ordering the print… so here's a cheat sheet for you for cropping your images!

The photo above is SOOC (Straight out of camera) It's how I framed it that morning; nothing done to it, crop-wise.

If I want to print a 4×6, I'm in good shape for the proportions of the original image… my camera happens to shoot in that same shape. But if my mom wants a 5×7, for example. Or an 8×10? The shape of that rectangle will be very different… you always want to keep proportion in mind when you're ordering prints… most places will just crop equal amounts off each edge and print it, unless you tell them otherwise.

Look here:

See the differences? While the height stays the same, the amount of the image included in each crop varies.

Here are examples of the image actually cropped:

If you watch the right edge, you can see the difference. Even worse, what if you wanted this to be printed in a square? Look at the cheat sheet image above; a square, from the left edge, cuts right through the back of Max's head, which is no good from a composition standpoint… by keeping my square in mind, I can crop it exactly how I want to, creating a stronger composition:

So I hope this helps! I know lots of grandparents love to get prints and enlargements, and this will help ensure that they look as fantastic as they can, as long as you always keep your proportions in mind!

While you're here, don't forget to enter to win a 1-year subscription to lynda.com online software training! Accepting entries until Friday, Nov. 9! Click here to enter!