Perfect Composition with Cropping
The composition of a photograph can either draw the eye to your work, or fail to get across the desired message to the viewer. Many elements are needed to create a wonderful photograph, but composition is one of the most important. Composition deals with how the various elements of the photograph work together in both placement and interaction to convey what the photographer sees and feels.
Good composition is really what sets apart really good photographers from mediocre ones. Now while there are many aspects of good composition, framing or cropping of an image is an important part.
Photoshop makes it easy to improve the composition of a photograph if you become familiar with the cropping tool. You can quickly and easily cut out parts of the photo that you don’t want or that distract from the main subject. Photoshop makes cropping as precise as you need it to be by allowing you to measure areas to be cut.
One of the major advantages of the cropping tools in Photoshop is that correcting mistakes or even starting over after cropping is easy. All you have to do go back to the beginning and try again. You can basically try out with an infinite number of possibilities.
Here are some tips for better cropping.
Consider the Rule of Thirds
You will typically never see the professional photographer center the subject in a photo, while the amateur usually does. By moving the subject off center, you will create more visual interest and appeal to your image. Visualize three lines dividing your image into even thirds and crop your photo in a manner that will place your subject into one of the outer thirds. Experiment as much as you want to reach your desired effect, but make sure to save a copy of your image as an original in a separate folder.
Crop to Traditional Print Sizes
Standard photo sizes such as 4×6 are easier to frame, so make sure to check the sizing when cropping a photo. Should your image not conform to standard dimensions, simply cut off or add back a little of your photo to meet these sizes. Without this, a photo lab may crop off more than you would want or in the wrong area of the photo to make them print the right size.
Framing an image through your camera can take backseat thanks to the cropping tool available in Photoshop. Any adjustments and editing can be made sitting at your computer. Another nice feature of Photoshop cropping is that no matter the Photoshop Elements version or the Photoshop CS version, the basic steps remain the same.
