Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/06/01
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Guy, >>Dave: What have art directors and editors got to do with it? We're talking about photographers and their use (or non-use) of cropping.<< You're right. That was kind of a reach on my part. As far as the other cropping issues. Your points are well taken. Cropping is OK. But the more I crop the more it indicates to me that I slipped a bit in my initial framing. >>I come back to the question I asked a couple of days ago: what if you created a potentially great shot, that could be made better if it were cropped - would you not crop it out of principle or would you do so to get the print?<< Yes, I'd crop. I'd also wonder why I didn't get the image right in the viewfinder. Cropping says to me that I could have done better. Not always. Sometimes getting it right in the viewfinder is impossible. Sometimes not getting it right is sloppiness, or failure to previsualize adquately. I'm trying to eliminate the latter. Most of my images too much in them. Not just around the edges, but throughout the negative. A good image should be simple. When I'm out shooting I want to think about how to simplify things. It's a difficult discipline to master. I once read something 3 important principles in photography. 1) Keep things simple. 2) When you think you're close enough, get closer. 3) I can't remember number 3. Dave