Ah, to crop or not to crop. Personally I do crop. Cartier-Bresson allegedly never cropped an image out of principle. Yet one of my favourite contemporary photographers, Jack Davison, says this: “… the one thing I live by, still, is to crop out everything that's not important, and to make a really tight, strong frame.”
Ooh, thank you for sharing that quote by Jack Davidson. That is a keeper! It does depend on the picture and perhaps the context. I do both without much angst.
The irony is HCB’s most famous image is a crop. The principle I agree with. The goal is to get the image in-camera. I try, where possible, not to crop. That being said, HCB never cropped, Frank did. Both are lights to guide us. My aim, every shot, is to get it in camera. If I don’t, the question becomes “does a crop improve the shot” or “is it just a bad shot”. If the former (and it is rarely the former) I will crop, if the latter (and it is almost always the latter) I will bin. As Andrew says... it depends! :D
during the season, i photograph a lot of rugby matches. between the sport photographers there is a saying "shoot tight, crop tighter". regarding sport i would say i crop most of my images. otherwise, not really, it depends.
As we try and discern what the world actually needs, we encounter such interesting neighbors -- the art of cropping and the imperative of letting go. Often, less is more.
Thank you for a lovely and thought-provoking post.
Everything in this letter resonates, Stella. Vocation, generosity, love and helpfulness. I think all these layers build a human life that pulses and flourishes, yet can be held lightly with curiosity for whatever is coming next in the story.
Re cropping: I tend to be a after-cropper because I love showing the intimacy of the moment. When I notice a living creature in the forest, it often feels like a shy presence is making itself known to me and I reverence that. Sometimes I like to hike without my glasses on, so I can’t fully control the image and see the finest details of what I’m shooting. It leaves a lot of room to be surprised by what’s been shown to me when I get back home.
Thank you so much for your lovely insight, Ann. Oh, I don’t know if I can hike without my glasses but I do love that you open yourself to surprises as you examine the photos afterwards. A few days in Senegal, I photographed with my lens set to infinity (out of focus). I walked around and captured color and movement. It was a fun experiment!
I have no photography experience but I do find when I take a pic without having to crop it, it’s a good picture. When I do need to crop it, I don’t feel it’s as good of a picture.
Aug 13, 2023·edited Aug 13, 2023Liked by Stella Kalaw
I don't normally crop but I see nothing wrong with it. Whatever the picture becomes with the crop, it's still something that was there - taken in the original frame.
Love the Pema Chodron quote. Thank you for that.
P.S. I'm editing my comment to take out the line "To me it's just a form of editing" because that can be a whole can of worms. Ha!
You’re welcome, Teresa Anne. I’m glad Pema’s quote resonated with you. It’s definitely a keeper. Re: editing your comments. No worries! Thanks for being mindful-- much appreciated.
Love so many things about this post! Gui and I definitely have creative differences when it comes to cropping- it’s true that it depends on the creator’s intention. Your post also reminded me of how I like to think of creators like a conduit of something greater. Julia Cameron writes in “The Artist’s Way, “Creativity, I believed, was a spiritual practice. We had only to open ourselves up to the Great Creator working through us. We became channels for spiritual energy to enter the world. Writing, painting, dancing, acting—no matter what form our creativity took, the Great Creator caused us to flourish.” Thank you for your post! My website is finally up, you had asked about my art earlier...
Thank you, Joan for your thoughtful comment especially the part where creativity is a spiritual practice. Your ceramic work is absolutely GORGEOUS! I love biomimicry in architecture and nature in general. So inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing your website with me. Let’s continue making art and share them with others.
Ah, to crop or not to crop. Personally I do crop. Cartier-Bresson allegedly never cropped an image out of principle. Yet one of my favourite contemporary photographers, Jack Davison, says this: “… the one thing I live by, still, is to crop out everything that's not important, and to make a really tight, strong frame.”
So, I’ll sit on the fence and say… it depends!
Ooh, thank you for sharing that quote by Jack Davidson. That is a keeper! It does depend on the picture and perhaps the context. I do both without much angst.
The irony is HCB’s most famous image is a crop. The principle I agree with. The goal is to get the image in-camera. I try, where possible, not to crop. That being said, HCB never cropped, Frank did. Both are lights to guide us. My aim, every shot, is to get it in camera. If I don’t, the question becomes “does a crop improve the shot” or “is it just a bad shot”. If the former (and it is rarely the former) I will crop, if the latter (and it is almost always the latter) I will bin. As Andrew says... it depends! :D
Which famous shot by HCB is a crop? I’m intrigued!
Behind the Gare St. Lazare. He shot it through a fence and cropped out the fence post and some of the bottom of the frame to keep the ratio.
I’ll forgive him for that one!
Hah yes. There are others but that’s by far and away the most famous example. :)
Good to know, Neil. I didn’t know that.
When in doubt, I like to keep an uncropped version for a "just in case" scenario but in general I'm not too worried if I need to crop.
Totally with you on this one! Thanks for chiming in, Xavi.
during the season, i photograph a lot of rugby matches. between the sport photographers there is a saying "shoot tight, crop tighter". regarding sport i would say i crop most of my images. otherwise, not really, it depends.
Another good quote there. I didn’t realize that was a thing with sports photographers. Love that input-- thank you.
As we try and discern what the world actually needs, we encounter such interesting neighbors -- the art of cropping and the imperative of letting go. Often, less is more.
Thank you for a lovely and thought-provoking post.
The turning truck and the upraised foot of the rightmost walker - in such powerful balance!
I agree! It works uncropped because of this balance. He saw that subtlety and I think it is what makes the picture work.
Less is more. I love that insight, Daniel. Thank you!
Everything in this letter resonates, Stella. Vocation, generosity, love and helpfulness. I think all these layers build a human life that pulses and flourishes, yet can be held lightly with curiosity for whatever is coming next in the story.
Re cropping: I tend to be a after-cropper because I love showing the intimacy of the moment. When I notice a living creature in the forest, it often feels like a shy presence is making itself known to me and I reverence that. Sometimes I like to hike without my glasses on, so I can’t fully control the image and see the finest details of what I’m shooting. It leaves a lot of room to be surprised by what’s been shown to me when I get back home.
I love your work. Thank you for making this. 🌿
Thank you so much for your lovely insight, Ann. Oh, I don’t know if I can hike without my glasses but I do love that you open yourself to surprises as you examine the photos afterwards. A few days in Senegal, I photographed with my lens set to infinity (out of focus). I walked around and captured color and movement. It was a fun experiment!
I have no photography experience but I do find when I take a pic without having to crop it, it’s a good picture. When I do need to crop it, I don’t feel it’s as good of a picture.
Your instincts are good, Stephanie! It usually boils down to some kind of gut feeling about the image. Thanks for chiming in
I don't normally crop but I see nothing wrong with it. Whatever the picture becomes with the crop, it's still something that was there - taken in the original frame.
Love the Pema Chodron quote. Thank you for that.
P.S. I'm editing my comment to take out the line "To me it's just a form of editing" because that can be a whole can of worms. Ha!
You’re welcome, Teresa Anne. I’m glad Pema’s quote resonated with you. It’s definitely a keeper. Re: editing your comments. No worries! Thanks for being mindful-- much appreciated.
Love so many things about this post! Gui and I definitely have creative differences when it comes to cropping- it’s true that it depends on the creator’s intention. Your post also reminded me of how I like to think of creators like a conduit of something greater. Julia Cameron writes in “The Artist’s Way, “Creativity, I believed, was a spiritual practice. We had only to open ourselves up to the Great Creator working through us. We became channels for spiritual energy to enter the world. Writing, painting, dancing, acting—no matter what form our creativity took, the Great Creator caused us to flourish.” Thank you for your post! My website is finally up, you had asked about my art earlier...
https://www.joanpintoceramics.com
Instagram: joanpintoceramics
Thank you, Joan for your thoughtful comment especially the part where creativity is a spiritual practice. Your ceramic work is absolutely GORGEOUS! I love biomimicry in architecture and nature in general. So inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing your website with me. Let’s continue making art and share them with others.
I view photos as stories, so I crop if that focuses the story and leave the image if that creates a better story.
Thanks Jason! That makes sense. As most have chimed in here, Cropping is subjective and it boils down to how it affects the final work.