I started street photography in the summer of ’22 after a love-at-first-sight experience. My GR III was my first camera and to progress, I imposed a simple rule on myself: no cropping! If you’re new in the photography game, read on, this can help you too.
Don’t crop your photos
Why would you crop a photo? Probably because you didn’t focus properly on your subject. And you captured more than you should have.
Cropping can save a shot and even make it better, and more focused. It can be particularly useful if you’re a street photographer. Often, you don’t have the time to properly frame a subject or a scene in the streets. But if photography is something new for you, don’t crop your photos!
Don’t be lazy
Saving your photographs after the fact is lazy. If it becomes a habit you’ll become lazy. This will hinder your progression as a photographer. Cropping won’t help you learn to focus and frame quickly and properly. It’s a skill that you’ve to acquire with practice and patience. Plus you’ll end up with a lower-resolution digital picture.
How to improve your framing skills
Don’t allow yourself to crop for a few months. Be disciplined. You won’t have to delete your shots but you’ll have to leave them the way they were taken. Now that you know you can’t save missed shots, you’ll focus more. Don’t rush to push the shutter button. Focus. Take the time to focus on your subjects.
After each shooting session, review your photographs on, preferably, a big screen (I do it on my TV). Review them and don’t be nice to yourself. Acknowledge missed shots and try to mentally picture how you could’ve done it better.
It worked for me and will work for you too
When I first got my Ricoh GR III, I was slow and awkward. Not allowing myself to crop and save my shots helped me a lot. Now I’m quicker and more at ease. If photography is new for you, don’t crop, and thank me later.
