Tip #84: Crop Tool

In Tips 14 and 23 I discussed cropping. This article will describe how the crop tool in Capture NX2 can be used to your advantage. The tool has two modes Free and Fixed Aspect ratio.



In Free, anything goes. You choose the shape of the rectangular crop.



In Fixed Aspect mode, the proportions of the sides are kept constant. You can choose popular ratios or set your own.



You can set the sides the same and create a square crop.



You can create a cinematic aspect by setting the sides to a 16x9 ratio.



Cropping should no longer be a mystery.


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Tip #23: Cropping for Prints

In a previous tip, I wrote on cropping people. Photos often need to be cropped for display or printing, too. There are the typical sizes that we a familiar with: 4x6, 8x10, 11x13, 16x20, etc. Square formats are also trending, now.



If you know you are going to be cropping for a special size, fill the frame, when you compose the shot, but remember to leave enough negative space for your final, planned output.

For the web, most anything goes. I typically use a 2x3 or 3x2 width to height ratio, but I do mix it up for variety. Panoramas tend to be wider and have strange ratios, depending on the number of frames that I capture in a panorama. A Scott Kelby trick that I mimic is to use a 16x9 crop for a cinematic look.





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Tip #14: Cropping People

First of all what is cropping. Cropping is the process of aligning the good bits and removing the bad bits or clutter out of a picture. Cropping can be done in the view finder - the preferred method - or in post processing with photo editing software.

Is it OK to crop people? Of course it is, as long as you crop them in interesting ways. Generally speaking, when you crop people avoid natural joints. That is, don't put the edge of your photo at a wrist, ankle, elbow, knee, or shoulder joint. Don't chop off toes or fingers and certainly avoid the neck. Loose heads are just not pleasant.

How about the top of the head? This crop is a bit controversial. An occasional crop of a hairstyle that adds little to a pretty face is OK. Some photographers never do this style of cropping, but you often see it in advertising:



Photo: Lands' End Online Catalog


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