Cropping a portrait properly takes a lot more thought than just putting their face in the middle. Here are five quick tips to ensure you get a compelling portrait.
Crop Mid-limb, Not at the Joints
When you crop a photo mid-limb, it feels like you are amputating the person at that spot. To avoid that, don't crop a photo at the toes (it looks like a mistake), ankle, knee, wrist, elbow, or shoulder. Instead try cropping at the shin, thigh, torso, or middle of the arm.
Leave Face Space
Literally leave space in front of the subjects face. Here, the girl is looking to the right. That means you should leave more room on the right side (in front) than on the left side. This gives breathing room, and allows the viewer to relax.
The opposite also applies. If you want the viewer to feel claustrophobic and closed in by your photo, then have the subject face the edge and get rid of the breathing room.
Lead the Subject's Eyes
You know the rule of thirds? If you don't, check out this tutorial. It applies to portraits as well. Put your subjects face somewhere interesting in the frame. That leaves room for the viewer to explore the image, instead of staring at the middle.
Lead the Viewer's Eyes
This is true for any photo, but make sure to remove distracting elements. You want to look at what your viewer looks at. The first thing we are biologically programmed to look at is a human face. Next, any text that makes us want to read it. After that, we go to the brightest color or the part of the image with the most contrast.
In this photo, we see her face first, then are drawn to her shirt (both brightest and most contrast). But next you look at the photo on the wall in the background. There is so much going on back there that your eye gets stuck, and we aren't looking at the portrait anymore, just the thing on the wall. By removing that picture, you lead the viewer's eye from the face, to the shirt, and back to the face. We keep cycling through points of interest and never get stuck.
Keep the Hairline
Unless you are doing headshots for a casting agency who says you are not allowed to crop into their head at all, it is okay to do so as long as you don't crop their hairline. As long as you leave a good bit of the hair in the photo, then everyone knows "yes, this person has hair."
If you crop at the hair line, there is no visual end to their forehead and that makes it look huge. Worse yet, it makes them look bald. If you are going to crop in tight, then make sure you crop in really tight and go just above the eyebrows to minimize forehead. (Their eyebrows become the new hairline.)
Apply the Rules for 8x10"
When you take a photo, your camera (assuming you shoot on a DSLR) will be 8x12 aspect ratio. If a clients wants to buy the ever-popular 8x10" print then you have a problem. You have to cut off part of the photo that you so carefully capture to get it right in camera. At the top of this photo, I thought the pink bow was an important part of the personality that came through this shot.
Treat the bottom of the bow like the hairline. In other words, do not cut. At the bottom of this photo, you have to leave space below her arms, otherwise you are cropping a joint and she becomes an accidental amputee. The finished crop had to obey those two rules and find a good middle ground.
How do you crop your portraits? Let me know in the comments.
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