Crop/print (stupid-I'm sure) question

imagesofhim · May 14, 2010

So... making the change from 35mm to digital is killing me... I have a client who wants an 11x13 print. So, I go to the ROES ordering system in my processing site and the legs get cropped off... If I change the size to a 12x18, I have no problems. What am I doing wrong? Help... I'm really beginning to feel stupid!!

:huh

photobug · May 14, 2010

It's all about aspect ratio

imagesofhim wrote: »

So... making the change from 35mm to digital is killing me... I have a client who wants an 11x13 print. So, I go to the ROES ordering system in my processing site and the legs get cropped off... If I change the size to a 12x18, I have no problems. What am I doing wrong? Help... I'm really beginning to feel stupid!!

First, don't get concerned about digital vs. film -- this had no (direct) bearing on the problem.

Questions, so we can give accurate responses:

Is this image in "portrait" (vertical) or "landscape" (horizontal) orientation?
(I'm 98% sure it *must* be Portrait or you would not be having this problem.)
What camera did you shoot the image with?
(I'm going to assume below that it is a typical dSLR with a 3:2 aspect ratio sensor, e.g. mid-range Canons or Nikon, not a "pro" dSLR with a full-frame 4:3 sensor or a "Four Thirds System" dSLRs with a small 4:3 sensor)

Here's my guess re the source of the problem:

Your image is in Portrait orientation
You are used to shooting with a 4:3 aspect ratio sensor (35mm film) and are now shooting with a 3:2 aspect ratio image sensor (in your dSLR)
When you took the shot, you assumed that prints would be 3:2 (or nearly so) aspect ratio, so didn't leave cropping "safety" region(s) on the long axis of your frame
An 11x13 print is close to square-ish, so when you crop a 3:2 image (which is a perfect aspect ratio match for 12x18, BTW), you are certainly going to get cropping off the long axis of the image, on one or both ends.

What you can do about this:

You could Photoshop the image and add more "width" to it, probably on both sides of the short dimension. That may be easy or difficult, depending on the background in the image and your comfort/skill level with Photoshop. That will allow an 11x13 crop to capture more (or even all) of the vertical dimension on this particular image.
Going forward, when you shoot, keep in mind that the 3:2 aspect ratio images from your dSLR are "longer/narrower/more panoramic" than 35mm film frames. Bottom line: frame your shots accordingly, including more image in the frame than you're used to with 35mm, to allow for cropping to print sizes with closer-to-"square" aspect ratios (like 8x10 and 11x13).

imagesofhim · May 14, 2010

photobug wrote: »

First, don't get concerned about digital vs. film -- this had no (direct) bearing on the problem.

Questions, so we can give accurate responses:
Is this image in "portrait" (vertical) or "landscape" (horizontal) orientation?
(I'm 98% sure it *must* be Portrait or you would not be having this problem.)

What camera did you shoot the image with?
(I'm going to assume below that it is a typical dSLR with a 3:2 aspect ratio sensor, e.g. mid-range Canons or Nikon, not a "pro" dSLR with a full-frame 4:3 sensor or a "Four Thirds System" dSLRs with a small 4:3 sensor)

Here's my guess re the source of the problem:
Your image is in Portrait orientation

You are used to shooting with a 4:3 aspect ratio sensor (35mm film) and are now shooting with a 3:2 aspect ratio image sensor (in your dSLR)

When you took the shot, you assumed that prints would be 3:2 (or nearly so) aspect ratio, so didn't leave cropping "safety" region(s) on the long axis of your frame

An 11x13 print is close to square-ish, so when you crop a 3:2 image (which is a perfect aspect ratio match for 12x18, BTW), you are certainly going to get cropping off the long axis of the image, on one or both ends.

What you can do about this:
You could Photoshop the image and add more "width" to it, probably on both sides of the short dimension. That may be easy or difficult, depending on the background in the image and your comfort/skill level with Photoshop. That will allow an 11x13 crop to capture more (or even all) of the vertical dimension on this particular image.

Going forward, when you shoot, keep in mind that the 3:2 aspect ratio images from your dSLR are "longer/narrower/more panoramic" than 35mm film frames. Bottom line: frame your shots accordingly, including more image in the frame than you're used to with 35mm, to allow for cropping to print sizes with closer-to-"square" aspect ratios (like 8x10 and 11x13).

You're exactly right--on ALL points... I keep trucking along and think I'm bound to "get there"... someday! Thank you soooooooo much.

Crop/print (stupid-I'm sure) question

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