Nature Photography How To

Many photographers think of cropping as a simple and incidental task. But if you want to create images with maximum impact, the act of cropping an image requires careful and thoughtful techniques.

As you’ll see in the helpful tutorial at the link below, there’s more to cropping than getting rid of distracting elements in the frame or turning a horizontal shot into a vertical one. If your goal is to shoot like a pro, you should also aspire to crop like one too.

In the quick episode below from Pangolin Wildlife Photography, safari host and experienced shooter Janine Krayer explains everything to need to know to crop images like a pro, while noting that this is a subjective task.

Krayer begins with a detailed discussion of aspect ratios and pixel count, noting that the approach you take depends upon how you intend to use the final image. Are you going to print and frame the shot before hanging it on the wall, post it on your website, or share it on social media? These are all important considerations.

Clearly, the required pixel count of an image to be printed is far different than it is for online use. And if posting to social media is your ultimate goal, the appropriate aspect ratio for Twitter or Facebook is dramatically different than it is for Instagram and other sites.

After demonstrating several basic cropping rules, Krayer discusses how and when to break them. She also explains why cropping wildlife images often requires a different approach than with other types of images.

The episode concludes with Krayer explaining how proper cropping can even salvage an image that may have done wrong. You can watch the video tutorial here.

You can find more helpful tutorials on the Pangolin Wildlife Photography YouTube channel. And if you missed our earlier tutorial explaining a variety of pro tips for editing wildlife photos, be sure and take a look.