Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/05/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ed >>I think that if an image warrants a crop to make a good composition or exclude some unwanted subject matter then certainly cropping should and can be used, and sometimees to good effect<< "To crop or not to crop" dates back to my days in journalism. I never quite got the issue resolved. I've never been averse to cropping. I do it all the time. As you say, sometimes it's to good effect. The problem now is that with digital I think I think I'm overcropping. When I knew I had to make my prints in the darkroom my goal at the point of exposure was that I would print full frame. Just like Henry alluded to in his post. But I've noticed lately that I'm getting very lazy in my picture taking. I'm not framing as carefully. It's as subtle as not taking the extra moment to consider compostion before I snap the shutter. Why? Perhaps because I expect to crop. It's so easy. I think that I'm pointing and shooting more. It's really apparent when I try making silver prints, like I did over the weekend. My D2 doesn't extend high enough. And no black borders. I always got such satisfaction printing full frame and feeling like I couldn't improve anything by cropping. Dave