Mixing
Is composition after capture against any traditional photography rules?
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I use my mobile phone for photography. Normally when I notice anything interesting, I take a picture with the point of interest somewhere near the region I want it to be. But I do this with the clear assumption that the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different. I do this because I feel that I get a greater level of freedom and convenience when I compose offline, when I am sitting somewhere comfortably.
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
composition ethics
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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kiran
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up vote
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I use my mobile phone for photography. Normally when I notice anything interesting, I take a picture with the point of interest somewhere near the region I want it to be. But I do this with the clear assumption that the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different. I do this because I feel that I get a greater level of freedom and convenience when I compose offline, when I am sitting somewhere comfortably.
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
composition ethics
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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asked 6 hours ago
kiran
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"the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different." can you clarify that please? Changing the composition can mean a lot of things from heavy image manipulation (like moving individual elements around in the image or removing them) to more subtle changes (like cropping the image). How severe those manipulations are has strong implications for whether they are considered "cheating" or not.
– null
1 hour ago
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up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
I use my mobile phone for photography. Normally when I notice anything interesting, I take a picture with the point of interest somewhere near the region I want it to be. But I do this with the clear assumption that the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different. I do this because I feel that I get a greater level of freedom and convenience when I compose offline, when I am sitting somewhere comfortably.
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
composition ethics
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
115k37335627
asked 6 hours ago
kiran
161
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I use my mobile phone for photography. Normally when I notice anything interesting, I take a picture with the point of interest somewhere near the region I want it to be. But I do this with the clear assumption that the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different. I do this because I feel that I get a greater level of freedom and convenience when I compose offline, when I am sitting somewhere comfortably.
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
composition ethics
composition ethics
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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asked 6 hours ago
kiran
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edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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asked 6 hours ago
kiran
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edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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kiran
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asked 6 hours ago
kiran
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asked 6 hours ago
kiran
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1
"the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different." can you clarify that please? Changing the composition can mean a lot of things from heavy image manipulation (like moving individual elements around in the image or removing them) to more subtle changes (like cropping the image). How severe those manipulations are has strong implications for whether they are considered "cheating" or not.
– null
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
1
"the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different." can you clarify that please? Changing the composition can mean a lot of things from heavy image manipulation (like moving individual elements around in the image or removing them) to more subtle changes (like cropping the image). How severe those manipulations are has strong implications for whether they are considered "cheating" or not.
– null
1 hour ago
1
1
"the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different." can you clarify that please? Changing the composition can mean a lot of things from heavy image manipulation (like moving individual elements around in the image or removing them) to more subtle changes (like cropping the image). How severe those manipulations are has strong implications for whether they are considered "cheating" or not.
– null
1 hour ago
"the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different." can you clarify that please? Changing the composition can mean a lot of things from heavy image manipulation (like moving individual elements around in the image or removing them) to more subtle changes (like cropping the image). How severe those manipulations are has strong implications for whether they are considered "cheating" or not.
– null
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
6 Answers
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First of all: Photography is a form of art and everybody can perform his art like he wants. With that said the so called photography "rules" especially the rules of composition are more of a guideline to help composition than a rule.
If you prefer to compose your image after the shot it is your style and your image but the "offline" composing has some disadvantages compared to the direct composition.
The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this.
Also you can only really change the crop after taking the picture but the composition also contains the angle and position where the picture is taken. This second point is also the thing where I don't understand your point of greater level of freedom because a lot of photographers think on a quite big limitation because of this. Composition is more than just the crop of the image. It is what is shown and how it is shown. So not only the crop is important but also the position from where the image was taken, the angle of the camera, the focal length,...
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
A lot of photographers make crop tweaks after taking the image but it is always just cutting away parts of the image and you cannot add a lot in post. So you should try to get the composition itself as close to the end product in camera as possible.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
Photography is an art form so cheating is not really possible as long as you stand to what you do and don't claim it to be anything which it is not. So for example don't call it documentary photography if you have changed things in the image like the removal of distractions.
The big problem is that the offline composition is way more limited than doing it online. So it is better to take your time before taking the picture and get it close than thinking a long time afterwards and be limited with your changes.
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
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"The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this." Most phones already have to use cropping to zoom; might as well just do it in post when you have more time to do it carefully. If your phone has a separate zoom lens, you should definitely use it whenever possible, but this is still a pretty rare feature.
– Taudris
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
From artistic perspective a photographer is duty bound to use all means that are at his disposal to achieve the intended look. This includes cropping and / or other image manipulation techniques.
To illustrate my point - this is original frame from Alberto Korda. You are no doubt familiar with the edited version. It has been cropped and contrast tweaked.
You may agree or disagree with the outcome, but it was Korda's decision to make (and personally I think he nailed it).
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
What an amazing example.
– Konrad Rudolph
56 mins ago
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up vote
2
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No, I would not consider it as cheating.
In some cases you just don't have the right lens at hand (or better at camera) or the subject is moving, so you have to take the picture as it is and compose it later on.
For me, I like Wildlife photography, but no matter how gently I ask, the deer (or whatever) will move in the worst directions. So, I take the picture as long as I can and compose or post process it later on.
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
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My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
Photographers generally aim to capture an image that's as close to the final image as possible. Three reasons for that:
control: There are a lot of aspects of an image that you can't change after the fact. You can't change focus or point of view or the point in time when you took the image, for example. Those things are baked into the image, and in order to get them right you generally need a pretty good idea of what you think the final image will look like.
resolution: Framing the image in camera as you'd like the final image to be framed means that you don't have to crop the image, or you don't have to crop it much. That means you're using all or nearly all of the data from the sensor, so you end up with the highest resolution image. If you crop out a significant portion of the image, then you're left with fewer pixels to work with.
time: If you compose an image the way you want it when you take it, you don't have to spend as much time editing it later. It might not seem like a big deal to save a couple minutes, but if you've taken a hundred or two hundred photos in a day, reducing the time you have to spend on each one later makes a big difference.
Now, that doesn't mean that photographers don't change their mind later. It's not uncommon to notice something in a photo that you didn't see before, or to realize that the photo would be even better if some part of it were left out. But most of the time, you know what you're trying to capture when you take the photo, and you try to use all the camera's controls to make the image you want. You have the most control over an image at the moment of exposure.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
It's not cheating, and if it works for you, go with it. Just be aware of what you're giving up if you're routinely cropping away large part of your images.
There are cameras on the market that capture more data than you need for a single image exactly so that you have the freedom to adjust later. Light-field cameras have special sensors that record light at multiple focal planes, so that you can change the point of focus later. And some cameras can record a series of images instead of just one, so that you can change the point in time when the final image was recorded, or even combine parts of several images to get a photo where everybody is looking at the camera at the same time, even if that didn't actually happen.
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
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Cheating is gaining unfair advantage with deception. As long as you're upfront about what you're doing, it's not cheating. Even with something as banal as cropping, if you say you didn't, but you did, it's cheating.
Whatever personal photography rules you follow. If you ever feel the need to lie about an edit, it is cheating. Since you openly admit to cropping, I would not consider that cheating in your case. But for someone else, it might be.
As for "traditional photography", it depends, how traditional do you want to be? Are you required to use only film? Are you required to develop it yourself? Are you required to print it yourself? In a darkroom? Are you required to mix your own chemicals? Etc, etc.
Very few people would have any objection to cropping. A reason not to crop, to get it done in camera, is to maximize film/sensor area. Another is to avoid post processing. It is satisfying to have an image come out "perfect". It makes no sense to crop and say you didn't because you still have to put in the work, and you don't get the burst of dopamine that comes with getting it right in camera.
It's not true that cheating isn't possible because photography is art. Art contests have rules. Agreeing to follow them, but not, and claiming you are, is cheating. This is not specific to photography. Take sports. Why is taking certain drugs cheating? Because everyone agreed not to, and those who do gain unfair advantage by lying about it.
Also, suppose a documentary photographer edits and publishes some photos. Documentary photographers claim to show stuff "as it is", with edits restricted to the publisher's guidelines. When one of them edits a photo beyond what's allowed, he's lying to the publisher to gain unfair advantage. Hence cheating.
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
1
Compliance with the rules of any particular photo contest seems like a separate issue. A photo contest could have a rule like All photos must be taken with the camera held in landscape orientation, right-side up, but outside the context of that contest nobody would consider holding the camera upside-down to be cheating. If a contest rule is No cropping, then of course submitting a cropped image and saying that it wasn't cropped is cheating, but I don't think that's what the OP is getting at.
– Caleb
2 hours ago
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It can be a useful thing to do.
- Your lens is sharper at the center
- Your camera often auto-focuses better on the center (more sensitive/accurate focus point)(some old cameras auto-focus only on the center)
- Your camera gives more weight to the center of the image when it determines the exposure.
Of course you can center the subject, half-press the button to have the camera set up focus/exposure, and then shift the frame to compensate for 2) and 3) but this still puts your subject where the lens is softer.
So shooting with a centered subject is sometimes technically better especially if you have an entry-level camera and lens.
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
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6 Answers
6
active
oldest
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6 Answers
6
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
5
down vote
First of all: Photography is a form of art and everybody can perform his art like he wants. With that said the so called photography "rules" especially the rules of composition are more of a guideline to help composition than a rule.
If you prefer to compose your image after the shot it is your style and your image but the "offline" composing has some disadvantages compared to the direct composition.
The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this.
Also you can only really change the crop after taking the picture but the composition also contains the angle and position where the picture is taken. This second point is also the thing where I don't understand your point of greater level of freedom because a lot of photographers think on a quite big limitation because of this. Composition is more than just the crop of the image. It is what is shown and how it is shown. So not only the crop is important but also the position from where the image was taken, the angle of the camera, the focal length,...
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
A lot of photographers make crop tweaks after taking the image but it is always just cutting away parts of the image and you cannot add a lot in post. So you should try to get the composition itself as close to the end product in camera as possible.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
Photography is an art form so cheating is not really possible as long as you stand to what you do and don't claim it to be anything which it is not. So for example don't call it documentary photography if you have changed things in the image like the removal of distractions.
The big problem is that the offline composition is way more limited than doing it online. So it is better to take your time before taking the picture and get it close than thinking a long time afterwards and be limited with your changes.
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
115k37335627
answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
10810
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"The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this." Most phones already have to use cropping to zoom; might as well just do it in post when you have more time to do it carefully. If your phone has a separate zoom lens, you should definitely use it whenever possible, but this is still a pretty rare feature.
– Taudris
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
First of all: Photography is a form of art and everybody can perform his art like he wants. With that said the so called photography "rules" especially the rules of composition are more of a guideline to help composition than a rule.
If you prefer to compose your image after the shot it is your style and your image but the "offline" composing has some disadvantages compared to the direct composition.
The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this.
Also you can only really change the crop after taking the picture but the composition also contains the angle and position where the picture is taken. This second point is also the thing where I don't understand your point of greater level of freedom because a lot of photographers think on a quite big limitation because of this. Composition is more than just the crop of the image. It is what is shown and how it is shown. So not only the crop is important but also the position from where the image was taken, the angle of the camera, the focal length,...
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
A lot of photographers make crop tweaks after taking the image but it is always just cutting away parts of the image and you cannot add a lot in post. So you should try to get the composition itself as close to the end product in camera as possible.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
Photography is an art form so cheating is not really possible as long as you stand to what you do and don't claim it to be anything which it is not. So for example don't call it documentary photography if you have changed things in the image like the removal of distractions.
The big problem is that the offline composition is way more limited than doing it online. So it is better to take your time before taking the picture and get it close than thinking a long time afterwards and be limited with your changes.
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
115k37335627
answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
10810
New contributor
LuZel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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"The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this." Most phones already have to use cropping to zoom; might as well just do it in post when you have more time to do it carefully. If your phone has a separate zoom lens, you should definitely use it whenever possible, but this is still a pretty rare feature.
– Taudris
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
5
down vote
up vote
5
down vote
First of all: Photography is a form of art and everybody can perform his art like he wants. With that said the so called photography "rules" especially the rules of composition are more of a guideline to help composition than a rule.
If you prefer to compose your image after the shot it is your style and your image but the "offline" composing has some disadvantages compared to the direct composition.
The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this.
Also you can only really change the crop after taking the picture but the composition also contains the angle and position where the picture is taken. This second point is also the thing where I don't understand your point of greater level of freedom because a lot of photographers think on a quite big limitation because of this. Composition is more than just the crop of the image. It is what is shown and how it is shown. So not only the crop is important but also the position from where the image was taken, the angle of the camera, the focal length,...
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
A lot of photographers make crop tweaks after taking the image but it is always just cutting away parts of the image and you cannot add a lot in post. So you should try to get the composition itself as close to the end product in camera as possible.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
Photography is an art form so cheating is not really possible as long as you stand to what you do and don't claim it to be anything which it is not. So for example don't call it documentary photography if you have changed things in the image like the removal of distractions.
The big problem is that the offline composition is way more limited than doing it online. So it is better to take your time before taking the picture and get it close than thinking a long time afterwards and be limited with your changes.
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
115k37335627
answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
10810
New contributor
LuZel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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First of all: Photography is a form of art and everybody can perform his art like he wants. With that said the so called photography "rules" especially the rules of composition are more of a guideline to help composition than a rule.
If you prefer to compose your image after the shot it is your style and your image but the "offline" composing has some disadvantages compared to the direct composition.
The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this.
Also you can only really change the crop after taking the picture but the composition also contains the angle and position where the picture is taken. This second point is also the thing where I don't understand your point of greater level of freedom because a lot of photographers think on a quite big limitation because of this. Composition is more than just the crop of the image. It is what is shown and how it is shown. So not only the crop is important but also the position from where the image was taken, the angle of the camera, the focal length,...
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
A lot of photographers make crop tweaks after taking the image but it is always just cutting away parts of the image and you cannot add a lot in post. So you should try to get the composition itself as close to the end product in camera as possible.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
Photography is an art form so cheating is not really possible as long as you stand to what you do and don't claim it to be anything which it is not. So for example don't call it documentary photography if you have changed things in the image like the removal of distractions.
The big problem is that the offline composition is way more limited than doing it online. So it is better to take your time before taking the picture and get it close than thinking a long time afterwards and be limited with your changes.
edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
115k37335627
answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
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edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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edited 5 hours ago
mattdm
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115k37335627
answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
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answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
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answered 6 hours ago
LuZel
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Check out our Code of Conduct.
"The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this." Most phones already have to use cropping to zoom; might as well just do it in post when you have more time to do it carefully. If your phone has a separate zoom lens, you should definitely use it whenever possible, but this is still a pretty rare feature.
– Taudris
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
"The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this." Most phones already have to use cropping to zoom; might as well just do it in post when you have more time to do it carefully. If your phone has a separate zoom lens, you should definitely use it whenever possible, but this is still a pretty rare feature.
– Taudris
4 mins ago
"The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this." Most phones already have to use cropping to zoom; might as well just do it in post when you have more time to do it carefully. If your phone has a separate zoom lens, you should definitely use it whenever possible, but this is still a pretty rare feature.
– Taudris
4 mins ago
"The first disadvantage is that you loose a lot of the image and the image gets smaller because of this." Most phones already have to use cropping to zoom; might as well just do it in post when you have more time to do it carefully. If your phone has a separate zoom lens, you should definitely use it whenever possible, but this is still a pretty rare feature.
– Taudris
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
From artistic perspective a photographer is duty bound to use all means that are at his disposal to achieve the intended look. This includes cropping and / or other image manipulation techniques.
To illustrate my point - this is original frame from Alberto Korda. You are no doubt familiar with the edited version. It has been cropped and contrast tweaked.
You may agree or disagree with the outcome, but it was Korda's decision to make (and personally I think he nailed it).
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
What an amazing example.
– Konrad Rudolph
56 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
From artistic perspective a photographer is duty bound to use all means that are at his disposal to achieve the intended look. This includes cropping and / or other image manipulation techniques.
To illustrate my point - this is original frame from Alberto Korda. You are no doubt familiar with the edited version. It has been cropped and contrast tweaked.
You may agree or disagree with the outcome, but it was Korda's decision to make (and personally I think he nailed it).
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
What an amazing example.
– Konrad Rudolph
56 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
From artistic perspective a photographer is duty bound to use all means that are at his disposal to achieve the intended look. This includes cropping and / or other image manipulation techniques.
To illustrate my point - this is original frame from Alberto Korda. You are no doubt familiar with the edited version. It has been cropped and contrast tweaked.
You may agree or disagree with the outcome, but it was Korda's decision to make (and personally I think he nailed it).
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
From artistic perspective a photographer is duty bound to use all means that are at his disposal to achieve the intended look. This includes cropping and / or other image manipulation techniques.
To illustrate my point - this is original frame from Alberto Korda. You are no doubt familiar with the edited version. It has been cropped and contrast tweaked.
You may agree or disagree with the outcome, but it was Korda's decision to make (and personally I think he nailed it).
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
answered 3 hours ago
Jindra Lacko
4,950634
4,950634
What an amazing example.
– Konrad Rudolph
56 mins ago
add a comment |Â
What an amazing example.
– Konrad Rudolph
56 mins ago
What an amazing example.
– Konrad Rudolph
56 mins ago
What an amazing example.
– Konrad Rudolph
56 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
No, I would not consider it as cheating.
In some cases you just don't have the right lens at hand (or better at camera) or the subject is moving, so you have to take the picture as it is and compose it later on.
For me, I like Wildlife photography, but no matter how gently I ask, the deer (or whatever) will move in the worst directions. So, I take the picture as long as I can and compose or post process it later on.
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
368110
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
No, I would not consider it as cheating.
In some cases you just don't have the right lens at hand (or better at camera) or the subject is moving, so you have to take the picture as it is and compose it later on.
For me, I like Wildlife photography, but no matter how gently I ask, the deer (or whatever) will move in the worst directions. So, I take the picture as long as I can and compose or post process it later on.
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
368110
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
No, I would not consider it as cheating.
In some cases you just don't have the right lens at hand (or better at camera) or the subject is moving, so you have to take the picture as it is and compose it later on.
For me, I like Wildlife photography, but no matter how gently I ask, the deer (or whatever) will move in the worst directions. So, I take the picture as long as I can and compose or post process it later on.
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
368110
No, I would not consider it as cheating.
In some cases you just don't have the right lens at hand (or better at camera) or the subject is moving, so you have to take the picture as it is and compose it later on.
For me, I like Wildlife photography, but no matter how gently I ask, the deer (or whatever) will move in the worst directions. So, I take the picture as long as I can and compose or post process it later on.
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
368110
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
368110
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
368110
answered 6 hours ago
Alexander von Wernherr
368110
368110
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
Photographers generally aim to capture an image that's as close to the final image as possible. Three reasons for that:
control: There are a lot of aspects of an image that you can't change after the fact. You can't change focus or point of view or the point in time when you took the image, for example. Those things are baked into the image, and in order to get them right you generally need a pretty good idea of what you think the final image will look like.
resolution: Framing the image in camera as you'd like the final image to be framed means that you don't have to crop the image, or you don't have to crop it much. That means you're using all or nearly all of the data from the sensor, so you end up with the highest resolution image. If you crop out a significant portion of the image, then you're left with fewer pixels to work with.
time: If you compose an image the way you want it when you take it, you don't have to spend as much time editing it later. It might not seem like a big deal to save a couple minutes, but if you've taken a hundred or two hundred photos in a day, reducing the time you have to spend on each one later makes a big difference.
Now, that doesn't mean that photographers don't change their mind later. It's not uncommon to notice something in a photo that you didn't see before, or to realize that the photo would be even better if some part of it were left out. But most of the time, you know what you're trying to capture when you take the photo, and you try to use all the camera's controls to make the image you want. You have the most control over an image at the moment of exposure.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
It's not cheating, and if it works for you, go with it. Just be aware of what you're giving up if you're routinely cropping away large part of your images.
There are cameras on the market that capture more data than you need for a single image exactly so that you have the freedom to adjust later. Light-field cameras have special sensors that record light at multiple focal planes, so that you can change the point of focus later. And some cameras can record a series of images instead of just one, so that you can change the point in time when the final image was recorded, or even combine parts of several images to get a photo where everybody is looking at the camera at the same time, even if that didn't actually happen.
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
28k551102
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
Photographers generally aim to capture an image that's as close to the final image as possible. Three reasons for that:
control: There are a lot of aspects of an image that you can't change after the fact. You can't change focus or point of view or the point in time when you took the image, for example. Those things are baked into the image, and in order to get them right you generally need a pretty good idea of what you think the final image will look like.
resolution: Framing the image in camera as you'd like the final image to be framed means that you don't have to crop the image, or you don't have to crop it much. That means you're using all or nearly all of the data from the sensor, so you end up with the highest resolution image. If you crop out a significant portion of the image, then you're left with fewer pixels to work with.
time: If you compose an image the way you want it when you take it, you don't have to spend as much time editing it later. It might not seem like a big deal to save a couple minutes, but if you've taken a hundred or two hundred photos in a day, reducing the time you have to spend on each one later makes a big difference.
Now, that doesn't mean that photographers don't change their mind later. It's not uncommon to notice something in a photo that you didn't see before, or to realize that the photo would be even better if some part of it were left out. But most of the time, you know what you're trying to capture when you take the photo, and you try to use all the camera's controls to make the image you want. You have the most control over an image at the moment of exposure.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
It's not cheating, and if it works for you, go with it. Just be aware of what you're giving up if you're routinely cropping away large part of your images.
There are cameras on the market that capture more data than you need for a single image exactly so that you have the freedom to adjust later. Light-field cameras have special sensors that record light at multiple focal planes, so that you can change the point of focus later. And some cameras can record a series of images instead of just one, so that you can change the point in time when the final image was recorded, or even combine parts of several images to get a photo where everybody is looking at the camera at the same time, even if that didn't actually happen.
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
28k551102
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
Photographers generally aim to capture an image that's as close to the final image as possible. Three reasons for that:
control: There are a lot of aspects of an image that you can't change after the fact. You can't change focus or point of view or the point in time when you took the image, for example. Those things are baked into the image, and in order to get them right you generally need a pretty good idea of what you think the final image will look like.
resolution: Framing the image in camera as you'd like the final image to be framed means that you don't have to crop the image, or you don't have to crop it much. That means you're using all or nearly all of the data from the sensor, so you end up with the highest resolution image. If you crop out a significant portion of the image, then you're left with fewer pixels to work with.
time: If you compose an image the way you want it when you take it, you don't have to spend as much time editing it later. It might not seem like a big deal to save a couple minutes, but if you've taken a hundred or two hundred photos in a day, reducing the time you have to spend on each one later makes a big difference.
Now, that doesn't mean that photographers don't change their mind later. It's not uncommon to notice something in a photo that you didn't see before, or to realize that the photo would be even better if some part of it were left out. But most of the time, you know what you're trying to capture when you take the photo, and you try to use all the camera's controls to make the image you want. You have the most control over an image at the moment of exposure.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
It's not cheating, and if it works for you, go with it. Just be aware of what you're giving up if you're routinely cropping away large part of your images.
There are cameras on the market that capture more data than you need for a single image exactly so that you have the freedom to adjust later. Light-field cameras have special sensors that record light at multiple focal planes, so that you can change the point of focus later. And some cameras can record a series of images instead of just one, so that you can change the point in time when the final image was recorded, or even combine parts of several images to get a photo where everybody is looking at the camera at the same time, even if that didn't actually happen.
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
28k551102
My question is whether this is a common practice among photographers? Or maybe traditional photographers do the composition when they capture?
Photographers generally aim to capture an image that's as close to the final image as possible. Three reasons for that:
control: There are a lot of aspects of an image that you can't change after the fact. You can't change focus or point of view or the point in time when you took the image, for example. Those things are baked into the image, and in order to get them right you generally need a pretty good idea of what you think the final image will look like.
resolution: Framing the image in camera as you'd like the final image to be framed means that you don't have to crop the image, or you don't have to crop it much. That means you're using all or nearly all of the data from the sensor, so you end up with the highest resolution image. If you crop out a significant portion of the image, then you're left with fewer pixels to work with.
time: If you compose an image the way you want it when you take it, you don't have to spend as much time editing it later. It might not seem like a big deal to save a couple minutes, but if you've taken a hundred or two hundred photos in a day, reducing the time you have to spend on each one later makes a big difference.
Now, that doesn't mean that photographers don't change their mind later. It's not uncommon to notice something in a photo that you didn't see before, or to realize that the photo would be even better if some part of it were left out. But most of the time, you know what you're trying to capture when you take the photo, and you try to use all the camera's controls to make the image you want. You have the most control over an image at the moment of exposure.
More specifically, is offline composing considered as cheating or something?
It's not cheating, and if it works for you, go with it. Just be aware of what you're giving up if you're routinely cropping away large part of your images.
There are cameras on the market that capture more data than you need for a single image exactly so that you have the freedom to adjust later. Light-field cameras have special sensors that record light at multiple focal planes, so that you can change the point of focus later. And some cameras can record a series of images instead of just one, so that you can change the point in time when the final image was recorded, or even combine parts of several images to get a photo where everybody is looking at the camera at the same time, even if that didn't actually happen.
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
28k551102
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
28k551102
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
28k551102
answered 2 hours ago
Caleb
28k551102
28k551102
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Cheating is gaining unfair advantage with deception. As long as you're upfront about what you're doing, it's not cheating. Even with something as banal as cropping, if you say you didn't, but you did, it's cheating.
Whatever personal photography rules you follow. If you ever feel the need to lie about an edit, it is cheating. Since you openly admit to cropping, I would not consider that cheating in your case. But for someone else, it might be.
As for "traditional photography", it depends, how traditional do you want to be? Are you required to use only film? Are you required to develop it yourself? Are you required to print it yourself? In a darkroom? Are you required to mix your own chemicals? Etc, etc.
Very few people would have any objection to cropping. A reason not to crop, to get it done in camera, is to maximize film/sensor area. Another is to avoid post processing. It is satisfying to have an image come out "perfect". It makes no sense to crop and say you didn't because you still have to put in the work, and you don't get the burst of dopamine that comes with getting it right in camera.
It's not true that cheating isn't possible because photography is art. Art contests have rules. Agreeing to follow them, but not, and claiming you are, is cheating. This is not specific to photography. Take sports. Why is taking certain drugs cheating? Because everyone agreed not to, and those who do gain unfair advantage by lying about it.
Also, suppose a documentary photographer edits and publishes some photos. Documentary photographers claim to show stuff "as it is", with edits restricted to the publisher's guidelines. When one of them edits a photo beyond what's allowed, he's lying to the publisher to gain unfair advantage. Hence cheating.
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
1
Compliance with the rules of any particular photo contest seems like a separate issue. A photo contest could have a rule like All photos must be taken with the camera held in landscape orientation, right-side up, but outside the context of that contest nobody would consider holding the camera upside-down to be cheating. If a contest rule is No cropping, then of course submitting a cropped image and saying that it wasn't cropped is cheating, but I don't think that's what the OP is getting at.
– Caleb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
Cheating is gaining unfair advantage with deception. As long as you're upfront about what you're doing, it's not cheating. Even with something as banal as cropping, if you say you didn't, but you did, it's cheating.
Whatever personal photography rules you follow. If you ever feel the need to lie about an edit, it is cheating. Since you openly admit to cropping, I would not consider that cheating in your case. But for someone else, it might be.
As for "traditional photography", it depends, how traditional do you want to be? Are you required to use only film? Are you required to develop it yourself? Are you required to print it yourself? In a darkroom? Are you required to mix your own chemicals? Etc, etc.
Very few people would have any objection to cropping. A reason not to crop, to get it done in camera, is to maximize film/sensor area. Another is to avoid post processing. It is satisfying to have an image come out "perfect". It makes no sense to crop and say you didn't because you still have to put in the work, and you don't get the burst of dopamine that comes with getting it right in camera.
It's not true that cheating isn't possible because photography is art. Art contests have rules. Agreeing to follow them, but not, and claiming you are, is cheating. This is not specific to photography. Take sports. Why is taking certain drugs cheating? Because everyone agreed not to, and those who do gain unfair advantage by lying about it.
Also, suppose a documentary photographer edits and publishes some photos. Documentary photographers claim to show stuff "as it is", with edits restricted to the publisher's guidelines. When one of them edits a photo beyond what's allowed, he's lying to the publisher to gain unfair advantage. Hence cheating.
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
1
Compliance with the rules of any particular photo contest seems like a separate issue. A photo contest could have a rule like All photos must be taken with the camera held in landscape orientation, right-side up, but outside the context of that contest nobody would consider holding the camera upside-down to be cheating. If a contest rule is No cropping, then of course submitting a cropped image and saying that it wasn't cropped is cheating, but I don't think that's what the OP is getting at.
– Caleb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Cheating is gaining unfair advantage with deception. As long as you're upfront about what you're doing, it's not cheating. Even with something as banal as cropping, if you say you didn't, but you did, it's cheating.
Whatever personal photography rules you follow. If you ever feel the need to lie about an edit, it is cheating. Since you openly admit to cropping, I would not consider that cheating in your case. But for someone else, it might be.
As for "traditional photography", it depends, how traditional do you want to be? Are you required to use only film? Are you required to develop it yourself? Are you required to print it yourself? In a darkroom? Are you required to mix your own chemicals? Etc, etc.
Very few people would have any objection to cropping. A reason not to crop, to get it done in camera, is to maximize film/sensor area. Another is to avoid post processing. It is satisfying to have an image come out "perfect". It makes no sense to crop and say you didn't because you still have to put in the work, and you don't get the burst of dopamine that comes with getting it right in camera.
It's not true that cheating isn't possible because photography is art. Art contests have rules. Agreeing to follow them, but not, and claiming you are, is cheating. This is not specific to photography. Take sports. Why is taking certain drugs cheating? Because everyone agreed not to, and those who do gain unfair advantage by lying about it.
Also, suppose a documentary photographer edits and publishes some photos. Documentary photographers claim to show stuff "as it is", with edits restricted to the publisher's guidelines. When one of them edits a photo beyond what's allowed, he's lying to the publisher to gain unfair advantage. Hence cheating.
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
Cheating is gaining unfair advantage with deception. As long as you're upfront about what you're doing, it's not cheating. Even with something as banal as cropping, if you say you didn't, but you did, it's cheating.
Whatever personal photography rules you follow. If you ever feel the need to lie about an edit, it is cheating. Since you openly admit to cropping, I would not consider that cheating in your case. But for someone else, it might be.
As for "traditional photography", it depends, how traditional do you want to be? Are you required to use only film? Are you required to develop it yourself? Are you required to print it yourself? In a darkroom? Are you required to mix your own chemicals? Etc, etc.
Very few people would have any objection to cropping. A reason not to crop, to get it done in camera, is to maximize film/sensor area. Another is to avoid post processing. It is satisfying to have an image come out "perfect". It makes no sense to crop and say you didn't because you still have to put in the work, and you don't get the burst of dopamine that comes with getting it right in camera.
It's not true that cheating isn't possible because photography is art. Art contests have rules. Agreeing to follow them, but not, and claiming you are, is cheating. This is not specific to photography. Take sports. Why is taking certain drugs cheating? Because everyone agreed not to, and those who do gain unfair advantage by lying about it.
Also, suppose a documentary photographer edits and publishes some photos. Documentary photographers claim to show stuff "as it is", with edits restricted to the publisher's guidelines. When one of them edits a photo beyond what's allowed, he's lying to the publisher to gain unfair advantage. Hence cheating.
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
edited 5 hours ago
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
answered 6 hours ago
xiota
4,78611043
4,78611043
1
Compliance with the rules of any particular photo contest seems like a separate issue. A photo contest could have a rule like All photos must be taken with the camera held in landscape orientation, right-side up, but outside the context of that contest nobody would consider holding the camera upside-down to be cheating. If a contest rule is No cropping, then of course submitting a cropped image and saying that it wasn't cropped is cheating, but I don't think that's what the OP is getting at.
– Caleb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
1
Compliance with the rules of any particular photo contest seems like a separate issue. A photo contest could have a rule like All photos must be taken with the camera held in landscape orientation, right-side up, but outside the context of that contest nobody would consider holding the camera upside-down to be cheating. If a contest rule is No cropping, then of course submitting a cropped image and saying that it wasn't cropped is cheating, but I don't think that's what the OP is getting at.
– Caleb
2 hours ago
1
1
Compliance with the rules of any particular photo contest seems like a separate issue. A photo contest could have a rule like All photos must be taken with the camera held in landscape orientation, right-side up, but outside the context of that contest nobody would consider holding the camera upside-down to be cheating. If a contest rule is No cropping, then of course submitting a cropped image and saying that it wasn't cropped is cheating, but I don't think that's what the OP is getting at.
– Caleb
2 hours ago
Compliance with the rules of any particular photo contest seems like a separate issue. A photo contest could have a rule like All photos must be taken with the camera held in landscape orientation, right-side up, but outside the context of that contest nobody would consider holding the camera upside-down to be cheating. If a contest rule is No cropping, then of course submitting a cropped image and saying that it wasn't cropped is cheating, but I don't think that's what the OP is getting at.
– Caleb
2 hours ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
It can be a useful thing to do.
- Your lens is sharper at the center
- Your camera often auto-focuses better on the center (more sensitive/accurate focus point)(some old cameras auto-focus only on the center)
- Your camera gives more weight to the center of the image when it determines the exposure.
Of course you can center the subject, half-press the button to have the camera set up focus/exposure, and then shift the frame to compensate for 2) and 3) but this still puts your subject where the lens is softer.
So shooting with a centered subject is sometimes technically better especially if you have an entry-level camera and lens.
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
It can be a useful thing to do.
- Your lens is sharper at the center
- Your camera often auto-focuses better on the center (more sensitive/accurate focus point)(some old cameras auto-focus only on the center)
- Your camera gives more weight to the center of the image when it determines the exposure.
Of course you can center the subject, half-press the button to have the camera set up focus/exposure, and then shift the frame to compensate for 2) and 3) but this still puts your subject where the lens is softer.
So shooting with a centered subject is sometimes technically better especially if you have an entry-level camera and lens.
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
It can be a useful thing to do.
- Your lens is sharper at the center
- Your camera often auto-focuses better on the center (more sensitive/accurate focus point)(some old cameras auto-focus only on the center)
- Your camera gives more weight to the center of the image when it determines the exposure.
Of course you can center the subject, half-press the button to have the camera set up focus/exposure, and then shift the frame to compensate for 2) and 3) but this still puts your subject where the lens is softer.
So shooting with a centered subject is sometimes technically better especially if you have an entry-level camera and lens.
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
It can be a useful thing to do.
- Your lens is sharper at the center
- Your camera often auto-focuses better on the center (more sensitive/accurate focus point)(some old cameras auto-focus only on the center)
- Your camera gives more weight to the center of the image when it determines the exposure.
Of course you can center the subject, half-press the button to have the camera set up focus/exposure, and then shift the frame to compensate for 2) and 3) but this still puts your subject where the lens is softer.
So shooting with a centered subject is sometimes technically better especially if you have an entry-level camera and lens.
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
answered 3 hours ago
xenoid
1,137210
1,137210
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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1
"the final composition after I edit it using Snapseed might be completely different." can you clarify that please? Changing the composition can mean a lot of things from heavy image manipulation (like moving individual elements around in the image or removing them) to more subtle changes (like cropping the image). How severe those manipulations are has strong implications for whether they are considered "cheating" or not.
– null
1 hour ago