Aspect Ratios

Great Smoky Mountain National Park, North Carolina, USA (click to enlarge)
Nikon D700, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII lens @ 200mm; 1/640th sec. @ f/11; ISO 400

I have written before that I prefer the 3 X 2 or 35mm format image aspect ratio much better than the M4/3 format ratio, which is 4 X 3.  I guess I prefer images with two sides of the rectangle a bit longer than is realized in either 4 X 3 or 10 X 8 aspect ratios.

The other day something surprising revealed itself to me about my photography of which I never realized. It hit me that although I prefer the horizontal 3 X 2 aspect ratio, when it comes to vertical images, I discovered I almost always crop to an aspect ratio that is much closer to 4 X 3 or 10 X 8!  I had never realized that!

Thinking about and and then looking at some of my vertical images, it is apparent to me that when using the 3 X 2 aspect ratio in the vertical aspect, the vertical sides of the rectangle make the image look too narrow to be generally pleasing to my eye but the vertical look that a 4 X 3 or 10 X 8 aspect ratio gives me seems about right.  Strange.

2 X 3 (original) format

5 X 4 format

I never realized this fact in the past.  But this is just me.  Your mileage may vary, as they say...


Of course, in the end, I will only crop an image if it needs it and I will always crop it to look the best to me, according to the needs of the individual image.  There is no formula that I would apply to all images.

I find it always good to analyze my own photography and I how "see" to better discover and learn more about my own vision and what I prefer.  Sometimes, as in this case, I surprise myself.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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