Many times I have taken a photo which looked good in the viewfinder but, when reviewing it in the camera’s LCD display, not so much. It happens when I am not careful and forget to look around the edges before pressing the shutter release. In the photo below I was intent on Space Mountain before me and missed all the foliage and tree limbs intruding. Now, I could just crop this photo in software. However, cropping too much loses image resolution and can make a photo grainy when viewing a smaller, cropped version.
Wide view of Space Mountain.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/320s, f/9, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 29mm Focal Length
In this case, I decided to use the power of the zoom lens and “crop in camera” by zooming in from 29mm to 75mm. I, also, took two images. One in a landscape orientation and, the one below, in a portrait orientation.
In camera cropped view of Space Mountain.
Nikon D70/18-200VR, 1/60s, f/16, ISO 200, EV +0.3, 75mm Focal Length
By doing the crop in the camera, it saves me time later at the computer. The image is cleaner and has your camera’s full resolution for printing or displaying electronically.
I have enjoyed reading all your posts over the past couple of months, and I have gotten some fine tips. I must say however that I prefer your non-cropped image better. I think it provides depth and interest. A frame within a frame.
Scott replies: I am glad you like the first version. Using natural frames is often a great way to make a photo better. In this case, I hadn’t planned on it which is why I found it not to my liking.