Cropping Guide

First post for 2013 and I have stumbled on this image from a series of info-graphics on DigitalCamera.com

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/03/30/free-portrait-photography-cropping-guide/

It clearly shops the optimum crop limits for different portrait shots both landscape and portrait formats.

Cropping and Extending

Cropping an image has already been covered in other exercises but to recap:

Cropping can be used to;

• Remove unwanted edge detail
• Restore balance
• Improve composition
• Change aspect ration or format
• Change context/meaning of image 

This last one ,particulary in journalism is often perceived as a legitimate tool. However how it is perceived by the intended audience is often in a negative way e.g  Reuters use of cropping being accused of bias

I decided to investigate extending the image by compiling a series of images to create a panorama.

Following on from the previous exercise I used the two formats to compile the images.First using landscape images , once aligned they need to be quite heavily cropped and some details  are lost as the image is long and narrow.

When the images for the panorama are taken in the vertical or portrait format the resulting panorama is wider and easier to align with less need to crop the final image and less detail is lost.

In conclusion cropping can be use to "repair" an image but also can be used to create a new context or composition . Extending the image is also useful to create a larger format to ensure the subject is fully recorded when it far exceed the available mediums proportions. e.g. Landscapes or interiors