Focus on Photos ~ Cropping!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Hi all!  Kylie here…and can you believe that this is my very first focus on photos post! ;o)  I do not pretend to have any real talent or technique when it comes to photography…I’m strictly a point-and-shot & hope for the best kind of girl!!  So, today my post is all about sharing some cropping tips to enhance your photos post-click!  There are so many components in crafting standout digi-scrap layouts…and a good crop can make all the difference!!

Beckie, photographer-extraordinaire, has touched on in-camera cropping in some of her previous photography posts.  She said: “Professional photographers get gorgeous results by controlling every aspect of what is in the frame for each shot.  Most of the time, the best photos are those with a clear and obvious subject!  You can do this through in-camera crop, which means that you “zoom in” on only that subject matter that is important to you.  (Click here for more information, from Beckie, on lenses and crop sensors) Often, however, we’re so busy (and hopefully caught up having fun!) that sometimes you’ll need to crop the image later, before you use it.”  I agree!  And, if you’re like me, generally, there is little time to think about the all-important composition of a photo because, rightly or wrongly, I’m too concerned with capturing the moment…kids move QUICKLY!!!  However, thanks to our photo-editing software we can easily crop images in ways that can instantly transform them…making the composition all the more interesting and, at the same time, more appealing to the eye.

Cropping is a simple task.  All we are really doing is removing part of an image…too easy, huh?!!  Most of us should be familiar with the crop tool and how to use it.  In most programs it looks like this…

If you’ve never cropped digital photos before here are a couple tutorials provided by Adobe that go through the process step-by-step.

• Photoshop
• Photoshop Elements 

Before we all get a little bit too crop-happy, let’s consider a few things:

• ALWAYS CREATE A COPY/DUPLICATE of the original photo first, before you even touch the crop tool.  Make all the necessary edits (by tinkering with adjustment layers, the various tools in photoshop or via pre-made photo actions etc) until you are happy with the result…then it is time to crop your image.  Saving a separate copy to the original is sooo very IMPORTANT…I think we all understand the need to be careful with this, because once the original or master file is saved-over you can’t go back, can you?!!
• Consider the design of your layout and the story you want to tell.  Then think about how you can creatively re-work your photo/s to match your design concept and assist your story-telling.  A little fore-thought and pre-planning can help you create amazing pages…pages that catch everyone’s eye!!
• Choose your focal point and trim away all the distractions and/or empty space…so that your focus really does become your FOCUS!

• Choose a photo shape that complements your layout.  Rectangles are our default, but you don’t have to stop there…make the most of that standard rectangle to really focus on the subject of your photo.  Or think about squares, circles, ovals, other fun shapes, or even a combination of shapes using your shape tools and clipping masks, or an extraction…just don’t over do it or your page may end up a complete & utter jumble and the eye won’t know what to focus on!! ;o)  And if you work with Photoshop Elements have you tried the Cookie Cutter tool?  Oh…and don’t forget about SP’s Scallops, Shapes & More set…an array of awesome pre-made shapes to clip to!

• Take advantage of contrast!  If you are choosing your background papers first, then have a look at the design you’ve picked – circles, polka-dots?? …well, contrast the paper with square photos…and vice-versa!
• Use the Rule of Thirds to guide you…creating focus that is a little off-center!  According to the rule of thirds a photo or image is best composed when broken into nine equal parts (three sections and four quartiles).  The focal point (for example the subject’s eye, face, or smile) is placed in one of the four quartiles.  When used properly, it automatically creates an image that is more visually appealing than one that has the subject placed directly in the center.  It gives a photograph motion and energy by drawing the viewer into the picture, instead of the subject of the picture coming straight at them.  If you are lucky enough to have Photoshop CS5, or above, it provides a rule of thirds ‘crop overlay guide’ within the crop options tool bar.  If you don’t have CS5 our good friend Damien Symonds has a rule of thirds action for Photoshop that you can download and use to help you crop to perfection!  Also, check if your camera has a rule of thirds guide function?…have a play – it may save you time in post-editing!

• Don’t forget to consider balance and proportion when cropping!  With digi-scrapping it doesn’t matter so much, but sometimes it’s nice to stick to standard photo sizes…4×6, 5×7 and so on…to add a little more structure, formality and realism to a page!  And don’t just concentrate on image size dimensions when it comes to balance and proportion…think also about the space & shapes that have formed within the actual image…negative space vs positive space…triangles…points of interest.  Check that you have achieved balance before you apply that crop!! ;o)  Oh, and balance does not always mean symmetry.
• If you are cropping a number of photos you may want to keep your crop area to the same ratio.  You can do this by setting your width and height boxes instead of using the free transform option of dragging the marquee selection handles over the photo randomly.  Click on “clear” if you want to change the size or go back to free transform.

• What about dividing a photo into parts to help you tell a story?

• Tilting your crop area is a fun way to create interest and movement!  Great for those less formal pages!!

• Try not to crop limbs (feet, legs, arms, hands etc) in awkward places!  There’s no real rule to this…but if the composition looks wrong to you somehow…then it probably is.  And if the original shot you captured made the chop - oops!! – attempt to improve the composition by adding a frame or some elements to disguise the awkward ‘amputee’.

Here are some other cool ideas for cropping…just experiment and have FUN!!

Now that I’ve outlined a few cropping tips, to be honest, I don’t technically use the crop tool as much as you’d think…I fake it!!  First, I create a photo shape layer, using the rectangle tool for example, and then clip my photo to the shape (you can go with your preferred method of creating a shape layer and if you need help with clipping then you’ll find help right here in the Shoppe Tutorials for both PS and PSE!).  In a way it’s the same as using a layered template!  I then re-size and position the photo exactly where I want it.  I consider this a faux-crop as I haven’t actually removed/trimmed away any of the photo.  I prefer this way because I already have my “photo area” locked-in as far as my page design is concerned, but I still have the freedom to move the photo layer around until I’m 100% happy with its position within the shape (my “photo area”).  Just be careful, going back to your photo and moving it round & round and re-sizing up & down within the shape, will cause the photo’s resolution to deteriorate.  My advice is to play with your positioning until you are happy and then grab the original photo file again, place it over the other photo, in it’s final position…then delete the first photo layer -> in other words: the one that has lost some of it’s resolution and is now a bit on the fuzzy side (you can tell this easily by zooming in at 100%)!!  Of course if you get the photo in the right spot on the first move you don’t have to worry about that last step.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post…and it has given you a few fun ideas to play with next time you edit your photos for a layout!  If you have any questions, please leave a comment on this post and I will do my best to answer it!! :o)

 Thanks for stopping by…I’ll be back tomorrow with your JUNE projectSCRAP templates!! :o)

KyliePhotography, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized 8 Comments