Why cutting things out improves what is left
Cropping — the cutting off or leaving out of areas of an image — is one of the most common yet powerful tools a photographer has. And the principle behind cropping — editing to reveal the most important element of something — applies to far more than photographs. As we’ll see, cropping has implications for how we approach many creative aspects of life including travel.
Cropping after the fact
Great photographers crop, but they usually do so mentally when framing their shot, seeing the final image in their mind before they release the shutter. Personally, I’m not quite there. More often then not, when I get home from a trip or photo shoot, I find that many images could stand a trim to improve the image I thought was there or, in some cases, to reveal an even better one.
The photo above is a good example. You may recall this general scene from the article on the Dolomites. Here’s what the original looked like before cropping:
I almost deleted this shot because at first it seemed like a picture of a big field with some mountains crammed in on the right.
I was actually trying to get the shot that most people take when they come to Val di Funes, this lush green valley in the Dolomites. Here’s an example of the more typical shot of the church with the mountains behind it:
It’s an interesting photo. But I still like the one of the field because it’s less typical. And even this one with the church benefited from cropping as this view of the original reveals:
In both of the above original images, cropping helps. With the first, it takes a so-so image and turns it into a strong composition. With the second, cropping improves an already interesting image by concentrating your eyes on the essential elements in the photo and removes some distractions like the white hay bales on the far left.
Cropping is for more than images
The same principles of cropping apply to most art forms, including travel. Writers edit. Chefs eliminate ingredients from recipes or replace them with something new. Composers take elements from a symphony that isn’t working and use those to create a smaller, yet more refined piece. And travelers? They choose to cut out parts of their itinerary in order to enjoy fewer places or experiences in greater depth. Here are some principles of cropping you can apply to travel or any creative endeavor.
Principles of cropping
- When you cut out the non-essentials, you enhance what remains. That, is the heart of cropping, improving what is there by removing what shouldn’t be.
- Cropping helps you discover something fresh in a scene, a focus beyond the obvious original intent. We like the familiar but we love the novel, especially when it retains enough of the familiar to be inviting. I once saw a wonderful photo taken near the Taj Mahal. But only a portion of that famous building could be seen in its reflection in a pool. The rest of the image captured the interesting people there. It was a new, intriguing way to view this iconic landmark and far more interesting by cropping out just enough of the more familiar.
- You learn to transform the merely adequate. Cropping lets you take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. Each photo becomes a treasure hunt to see what can be improved by finding the true story in the image. Like the comment attributed to Michelangelo that within the rough block of marble lies a horse and all he did was to remove the parts that didn’t look like a horse, so too with a photo or trip. You crop out the parts that don’t fit the best story inherent in the image or experience.
- You see the same scene but in a different way. You’re actually re-seeing it because cropping allows you to shift perspectives. Same with a trip: Eliminate a few activities and gain more time, and you’ll view what you do see in a different way than if you were rushed.
- You learn to tell the true story inherent in the image or trip. You may not always consider your viewers when you snap your shot. But when you edit, you begin to think about how others will perceive the image. What’s the story you want to convey? Cropping helps you refine that story and craft a final image that “reads” and makes sense even if the viewer has never been to the location in the photo. On a trip, you define what you want from your time in a place then ruthlessly cut out anything that doesn’t fit. It sounds harsh, but the results can be extraordinary because you’ll have the trip that matters to you, not one that everyone else did. This is the same idea as that expressed in this article on how to enjoy a museum: by seeing less, you actually see more of what delights you.
- Everybody crops. Every decision to forgo something in favor of something else is a form of cropping. Cropping is so familiar, we likely don’t realize what a useful tool it can be. Cropping is the difference between a first draft and a final work, the refining process that separates good (or even adequate) from great. With travel, cropping out the non-essentials is the difference between visiting a place versus truly getting to know it.
- Cropping well only comes with experience. It takes time, exposure to good design and practice to learn what makes an image, an experience or any work of art “just right.” Guidelines such as the “rule of thirds” help, but practice remains the key. Same with travel. You learn your own pace and what to leave in and out only by doing it repeatedly.
The results of cropping: Less is more
Thus, if you’re a photographer of travel images, you may want to pay more attention to the cropping function. With it, you can recenter, rotate, remove and re-position. But most of all, far beyond the realm of photography, cropping serves as a vital discipline for all creative types, including travelers. It enables you to discover and highlight the heart of the image, subject or place and to eliminate the distractions and lesser narratives. You end up with less: cropping is inherently reductive. But that less is almost always more: a stronger image, story, point or trip. By taking away, you add. And the results can be spectacular.
