I tend to teach photography with the goal of getting things right “in camera” the first time.  You’ll notice there simply aren’t very many Photoshop tips or post processing articles and that’s because I really do believe that the best photographs often occur because the photographer was ready and able at the time of capture.

The great Robert Capa is quoted as saying

If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.

I very much subscribe to that theory that you should get closer for better photographs.  Who am I to argue with Capa?

That said…sometimes you just have to turn to the good old computer to help you out when things didn’t quite go as planned.

Cropping Your Images

The most important thing to remember when cropping your images is that this will effectively reduce the size of your image.  If you’ve got a DSLR it’s really not that big a deal depending on how close you’re trying to crop in.  If you’ve got a point and shoot digital camera you’ll need to be a little more conservative when using your crop tool.

This, of course, all depends on what you intend to do with the final image.

(I have private little fantasies that all of you regular Your Photo Tips readers are at home consistently printing your photographs, having them framed, and proudly hanging them in your homes.)

Why crop?

Cropping is one of the easiest ways to really “fix” an image.  You can completely change the composition with a little re-framing and change the whole dynamic of the story that the photograph is telling.

You can crop things out that otherwise add clutter or distract from the image.

Or maybe you simply couldn’t get close enough because of a physical barrier (walking is NOT a physical barrier*) like a gate or fence and your zoom lens isn’t sufficient in getting you close to the action.

Whatever the case just know that it’s okay to crop.

Cropping can be one of the biggest teaching tools you have at your disposal.  Every time you have to crop in closer to fill the frame little alarm bells should be going off in your head reminding you that you should be using your feet or zoom while you’ve got that camera in hand.

With time you may find that you’re using the cropping tool less and less because you’ve subconsciously been teaching yourself to get closer!

So how often do you use the crop tool and how?

*I’m referring to lazy people not people with physical handicaps.