A Guide To Cropping Your Images | Bethesda Portrait Photographer

With the Holidays and New Years around the corner, I expect big family gatherings and lots of picture taking! When printing those gorgeous family shots, keep in mind that images may look different when printed at different sizes. Below is a great visual of a photo crop comparison chart. This guide is a great reference to show how photos will look at different crops. Many people don't realize that a lot is taken away when printing an 8x10 image, one of the most popular sizes. The explanation: Standard photographic sizes do not all follow the same height/width ratio. The camera takes a photo that, when uncropped, will reproduce to a 2” x 3” ratio (4x6, 6x9, 8x12, 12x18, 16x24, 20x30). The industry standard is to offer 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, size frames. So you can see how an 8x10 crops 2” off of an 8x12. This is why the same photo will appear slightly different when printed at different sizes.

When I edit client images I have to make the decision of what stays and what can go based on composition and what compliments your image best artistically. Great care is taken in cropping each image to maintain its integrity. Many images will work with most crops but some images will not.

So when you are printing your own photos or ordering greeting cards this year, this is something to keep in mind so you know what sizes to print your images!