How many times have you went to order an 8×10 and realized it chopped off a good portion of your nicely composed picture? This is all because of ASPECT RATIO.
Aspect Ratio is a measurement of a photographs width to height. For 35mm cameras, film or digital DSLR, this is a 3:2. This means that the long side is 1.5 times as long as the short side. A 4×6 has a 3:2. When you order a 4×6 print, it will look exactly like what you see on the screen. Other sizes that share this 3:2 ratio are 6×9, 8×12, 10×15, 12×18, 16×24 and 20×30.
The 8×10 and 16×20 are my most ordered sizes because clients already have frames for them or they are easy to find. The 8×10 falls under the 5:4 ratio and as you can see in the example below, a good portion of the picture is cropped.
A 5×7 falls under the 7:5 ratio and has just a small amount of crop. Square prints are a 1:1 ratio and will suffer a large crop as seen in the examples below.
Keep in mind, every time you crop from the photo the subject will appear larger on the print because you are ‘losing’ part of the photo. In the examples below, look at where the crop occurs for horizontal and portrait (vertical) orientations. When you order a ratio other than 3:2 you lose image from top/bottom on portrait (vertical) and the left/right sides on horizontal.
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As a professional photographer, cropping is a challenge. As artists, we are trained to compose to produce a flattering and eye pleasing photo. We have ‘rules’ to follow including where we crop body parts. So, when a client wants to order a print in a certain size, we do our best to keep the integrity of the photo and crop it to still be within our artistic guidelines. Occasionally, I will advise a client order a 3:2 ratio size if I feel the look of the photo will completely change. One of the downsides to ‘odd sizes’ like 8×12 and 16×24 is that is it more challenging to find frames or they are limited in selection. You might also be committed to a size because you are replacing a picture in a wall collage. These are all things to consider when you select a picture and size.
One of the biggest changes I made as a professional photographer is that I tend to shoot wider (leave room on the sides) for cropping. I would rather zoom in a bit for someone that not have enough room to order an 8×10. Some shots will be close up and may not make the 5:4 ratio crop and you will need to pick a 3:2 size.
Next time you look at your gallery of photos, just keep in mind how much of your photo will be lost to cropping! One of the benefits to ordering your prints through me is that I do the cropping for you and will make sure that you are still getting the best composed picture possible to display in your home to cherish.
So, now you have your beautiful prints. Want to know more about displaying them? Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post that discusses frames and ideas on how to display your new family photos!
