Choosing the correct crop, whether its in camera while you are shooting, or in post-processing when you edit (cropping in Photoshop or Lightroom), can completely make or break your image. While it may seem like a small detail, cropping is often the detail that will take your images from looking sloppy to professional just by slightly moving your camera.
Below is a visual guide for you to see a few places where (and where not!) to crop on a subject who is standing, facing the camera. These guidelines can also be applied to a subject who is sitting, or in a closeup shot. The green lines represent points that are safe to crop, while the red lines indicates the no-crop zone.
The main takeaway? Don't crop too close to joints such as ankles, knees, hips and elbows - leave a bit of room in those areas, or your crop will just look a bit "off." Also, be sure not to chop off parts such as fingers - either include the whole hand, or no hand at all - but don't crop in the middle of a hand!
Do you have any questions or comments about our Visual Guide to Cropping Photos? Leave us a comment below - we would LOVE to hear from you! And PLEASE SHARE our camera buying guide using the social sharing buttons (we really appreciate it)!
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