 In the photographic world the term cropping is used in two ways. In the after-the-image-has-been-taken realm of computers, cropping means chopping off and removing a portion of the original image. This type of cropping is usually done by using software such as Adobe’s Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Computer cropping is often used to create stronger interest by getting what appears to be a closer view of the subject, straighten a horizon, remove a distracting object such as a diver’s fin or the tail of a fish that shows up along an edge of the frame, or accommodate a specific print size.
While cropping with a computer is a common practice, the goal of any photographer is to capture the best possible image with their camera when taking the picture. In other words, when capturing their original images more highly skilled photographers make decisions about what to include and what not to include in their photographs in the effort to make their images appealing. This type of decisionmaking is known as in-camera cropping, or framing. Good in-camera cropping skills are a fundamental part of composing photographs.
In-camera cropping comes into play when you want to get a closeup, or “tight,” shot of a diver, fish or other animal. As an example, you might want to fill a pleasing percentage of your frame with the head and face of your subject while not showing the rest of the body, as I did with this image of the garibaldi shown here.
When photographing divers it is generally best to show the entire person, or to crop them from the waist up, bust up, neck up or chin up. You want to avoid cutting a diver off at the ankles, knees, midthigh, wrists and elbows or in any other way that makes the diver look odd or makes a viewer uncomfortable. The same general philosophy applies with marine animals even though they don’t have ankles, knees and wrists.
As a rule, when you crop an animal in-camera for aesthetic reasons or to capture the details seen in a closeup, you will want a nearly full-frame shot of a body part such as the head, face, eye or a fin, or in some cases a close shot of the animal from the head to midbody. You will want to avoid awkwardly cutting off tails or fins, or even parts of tails or fins, with your frame line. This might sound easy, but when things are happening fast as they often seem to in underwater photography, especially with moving subjects, it can be hard to make yourself look at the borders of your frame. However, with a little practice, thinking about how you crop subjects is a valuable photographic skill that can be learned.
|
