Cropping

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Cropping is the most basic adjustment which can be made to an image, and simply involves removing an area the full length of any, or all, the sides. Some Nikon cameras are able to perform basic cropping in-camera, but generally cropping is done in postprocessing. The same artistic decision can also be made when the photograph is taken, in which case it is described as framing or the image, or, simply composing.

Cropping may be applied for a number of reasons:

• To achieve a different shaped image, more suited to the subject, for example, a panoramic shape.
• To achieve a different shaped image, more suited to the application, for example, when used in desktop publishing. Images destined for desktop publishing will often be shot with additional space on each side, to give more flexibility for the layout
• To change the content of the image, either by recomposing it so that the centre of interest falls differently, or to remove a dominant element so that a secondary element becomes the new dominant element
• To improve composition generally, for example by conforming the image to the rule of thirds or the Golden Section, or in some other way suggested by the image, such as altering the negative space.

Here is a visual guide to common print formats, sensor formats, and Golden Section crops.