Chris' Camera Bag

A Photo Web log by Chris Young

Cropping for impact

October 16, 2013 at 08:12 AM

Even with a good telephoto or zoom lens, we often can’t get as close as we would like to wildlife.

But sometimes, if the exposure is good and the lens if sharply focused, we can crop in to bridge the gap between where we are and where we would like to be.

A lot of this depends on your camera’s ability to capture enough digital information. But with today’s cameras that boast of high megapixel images, tight crops are possible.

This picture was shot at the relatively high ISO of 800, and the image does start to break down a bit at this degree of enlargement.

You can see the full frame version below.

How much image degradation you will tolerate, depends on your own personal standards, and the picture’s intended use.

On the web at less than 600 pixels wide, this crop is fine. On a magazine cover, book layout or other finely printed piece, this version may not be acceptable.

Half the fun of photography is pushing the limits of your camera to see what it can do.