Perfect Composition with Cropping
There are many things that make a great photograph but one of the most important elements of a good photo is composition. Composition has to do with the placement of the subject and objects in a photograph and how these various elements interact together.
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.
Improving the composition of a photograph is simple through the cropping tool available in Photoshop. With this, you can swiftly cut out areas of the photo that you wish to be removed, or that take away from the photo’s subject. Photoshop enables you to measure the portions to by cut, to ensure accuracy.
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.
Better Cropping Tips:
Rule of Thirds:
One example of the differences between the professional and the novice photographer is in the placement of the subject within the image. The professional seldom centers the subject in the picture, while the amateur almost always does. Place the subject off center for a much more professional and eye-catching result. Imagine lines dividing your image into thirds and crop your picture accordingly so that the subject lies in one of the outer thirds. Make a copy of the original photograph in a separate folder for reference, and then try out cropping your subject using the rule of thirds.
Crop to Traditional Print Sizes
You will want to crop your pictures to make sure they will print in a standard size such as 4×6. If they do not fall into one of these sizes, try cutting a little more off. If not, when you take them into print at the local lab the photo lab may have to crop them even more to make them print the right size.
Framing becomes a thing of photography days gone by thanks to the ease by which Photoshop allows you to crop photos. All you have to do is edit images via computer. Don’t worry about what your version of Photoshop is. The technical aspects of using the cropping tool are basically the same from Photoshop Elements to the more advanced version, Photoshop CS.
