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Cropping to Obtain Close-Ups with High-Resolution Digital Cameras, Demonstrated with Photographs From Central Park Zoo
By David Alderoty © 2018
To contact the author use: David@TechForText.com Or left click for a website communication form
The Article: Summary and Introductory Concepts This website contains a 1900-word article and 16 sets of photographs, to explain and demonstrate the utility and limitations of cropping to obtain close-ups. The close-ups on this website were taken with a 55 mm lens to show how cropping can be used as an alternative to a telephoto lens. This is actually an old technique, which is used extensively in wildlife photography. However, with the new high-resolution full frame digital cameras, cropping can be used to obtain close-ups, with a normal lens, even when the subject is over 20 feet from the camera. With the less expensive cameras, cropping can also be used to obtain close-ups, but certainly not to the same degree as with high-resolution full frame cameras.
Below is the hyperlink table of contents of this website. If you left click on any of the blue underlined words, a section or topic heading will appear on your computer screen. Alternatively, you can scroll down and browse the topics, because everything on this website is on one long webpage. The Article: Summary and Introductory Concepts Section 1, Cropping to Obtain Close-Ups How to Obtain the Best Results with the Technique of Cropping to Obtain Close-Ups Section 2, the Photographs on this website Post-Processing, and Cropping of the Photographs to Obtain Close-Ups. Set 10 and 11, a Rat Stealing Birdseed
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Section 1, Cropping to Obtain Close-Ups
Cropping to obtain close-ups is an old technique. However, this technique is especially useful with modern full frame high-resolution digital cameras. Some examples are the 42-megapixel Sony 7 RII, the 45-megapixel Nikon D850, and the 50-megapixel Canon EOS 5DS. For additional information on high-resolution cameras see the following web-based articles: The 8 Best Large Resolution Cameras to Buy in 2018, The Best Full Frame DSLRs of 2018,
How to Obtain the Best Results with the Technique of Cropping to Obtain Close-Ups
You will probably get satisfactory results with this technique if your camera is properly focused, and you are using an adequate shutter speed, and/or a tripod. However, this technique (cropping to obtain close-ups) will produce the best results if you can carry out the 12 suggestions listed below.
Note, it may not be possible to carry out all of the suggestions on the following list, unless the circumstances are ideal for your photographic objectives. When you are not dealing with ideal conditions, carry out as many of the steps that are feasible.
1) Use a high quality lens, with a full frame high-resolution camera body
2) Use an aperture setting that provides optimum depth of field
3) Make every effort to obtain perfect focus (If the lens cannot focus perfectly, such as when the subject is moving, use an aperture of F8 to F22 if possible.)
4) Use an adequate shutter speed if the subject is moving
5) Take the photograph with a relatively high level of illumination. (This can be done a number of ways, one of which is to use an electronic flash.)
6) Use a tripod or any other sturdy mounting device for the camera (This is especially important if you our using a low shutter speed. If you are holding the camera, use the fastest feasible shutter speed, or an electronic flash.)
7) Set the camera to produce photographs with the highest feasible file size and the highest resolution
8) Use the lowest feasible ISO
9) Do not crop excessively, if you want a sharp image that is not grainy
10) Get as close to the subject as feasible, to avoid the need for extensive cropping
11) When cropping a photograph, use the sharpening function(s) available in most photo editing software (Specifically, apply the sharpening function(s) to an optimum level to each cropped photograph. In most cases, it will greatly improve the overall quality of the photograph. If it does not, just reverse the process. Keep in mind that applying the sharpening function(s) excessively can produce an undesirable appearance.)
12) Handle your camera as if you are using a 500 mm telephoto lens (This last point sums up most of the statements that were presented above.)
Note, to understand the material under the following three headings, it is necessary to examine the four photographs presented three paragraphs below.
An Extreme Example of the Technique of Cropping to Obtain Close-Ups, Consisting of four Photographs of a Pigeon
To clarify the technique of cropping to obtain close-ups, examine photograph‑1, three paragraphs below, and look for a pigeon in-flight, with a dark purplish color. It might be difficult to see the pigeon, because it is very small in photograph-1. This is because the pigeon was a considerable distance from the camera, and the picture was taken with a 55 mm lens. Now examine photographs 2, 3, and 4, which were obtained by cropping photograph-1. In the crop photographs, the pigeon takes up the entire frame. If you view photograph-4 on a large computer screen, the image of the pigeon is approximately life-size. Keep in mind that the pigeon was in-flight, and it was approximately 14 to 20 feet away from the camera.
In the cropped photographs, the pigeon looks like if it was photographed with a telephoto lens of approximately 1,000-millimeter. However, with the cropping technique, I avoided the expense and disadvantages of a 1000 mm lens. For example, it would be very difficult if not impossible to aim, and focus a bulky telephoto lens at a pigeon that is flying at a relatively high rate of speed. However, it was very easy to take close-ups of the pigeon in-flight with a 55 mm lens with automatic focusing. The photograph was taken at F2 at 1/200 of a second, would an ISO of 250. I do not know of any 1000-millimeter lens that is F2.
Photographs of a Pigeon Cropped to the Extreme
Photograph-1
Photograph-2
Photograph-3
Photograph-4
The above photographs are for illustration purposes, and they were cropped to the extreme. When this is done, there is usually a noticeable reduction in the overall quality of the image. When the resolution and overall quality of a photograph is important, you should not crop to the extreme. Generally, it is probably best to limit cropping to the point where you have at least five megapixels for an image. For example, if your photograph was taken with the 20-megapixel camera, you could crop out 3/4 of the photograph. This will result an image that retains 1/4 of the surface area of the original photograph, and 1/4 of the pixels. With this example, 1/4 of the pixels is 5 megapixels. With a 40-megapixel camera, you can crop to the point where you have only 1/8 of the surface area of the original photograph. This of course initially results in a smaller image, which can be enlarged to the same size as the original photograph. When a photograph is going to be enlarged greatly, it is wise to maintain over five megapixels in the cropped image. This is especially the case, if the image is going to be printed in a high-resolution format.
The close-up of the pigeon presented would have produced better results if a 300 mm telephoto lens were used. Then the cropping to obtain a close-up of the image of the pigeon would not be so extreme. Another alternative to minimize the need for cropping would have been to get as close as possible to the pigeon.
Cropping to the Extreme to Obtain Close-Ups, Might be Desirable in Some Cases to Reveal Unseen Detail, or to Produce a Dramatic Affect
Extreme cropping to obtain close-ups, can sometimes result in a grainy and/or slightly blurred photograph. However, sometimes these photographs reveal interesting details that were not apparent with lesser degrees of cropping. Keep in mind, that cropping to the extreme in some cases might be desirable. |
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Section 2, the Photographs on this Website
The Camera and the Photographs
All of the photographs were taken with the 42-megapixel Sony 7 RII camera body, with the Sony 55 mm f/1.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar Lens. The photographs were taken in Central Park zoo on December 1, 2017. A telephoto lens was NOT used for any of the photographs, and all the close-ups were obtained by cropping.
Post-Processing, and Cropping of the Photographs to Obtain Close-Ups
The post-processing and cropping of the photographs were initially carried out with the photo editing software that is bundled with Windows 8.1. The photographs were pasted in a Microsoft Word document, which was converted to HTML to create this website. The photographs were also post-processed and resized with the photo editing functions in Microsoft Word. All of the photographs were enhanced with Microsoft Word’s sharpening function. |
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The Location of Not-Crop, Cropped, and Extremely-Cropped Photographs Presented below, in the black section there are 16 sets of photographs, which contain four to six photographs. However, most of the sets contain only four photographs. The first photograph in each set, on the upper left side, is NOT cropped. (With some of the smaller computer monitors, all the photographs will appear in the center of the screen.) The remaining photographs in a set were obtained by cropping the first photograph in the set to varying degrees. This was done to demonstrate the utility and limitations of the technique of cropping to obtain close-ups. Some of the most extremely cropped photographs reveal the limitations of the technique. These photographs are the last image in the set, in most cases and they are located on the lower right in each set. When the set contains six photographs there may be two or three photographs that demonstrate extreme cropping. |
Set-1
Set-2
Set-3
Set-4
Set-5
Set-6
Set-7
Set-8
Set-9
Set-10
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Set 10 and 11, a Rat Stealing Birdseed In the following two sets there is a large rat stealing birdseed. The birds appear to be avoiding a confrontation with the rat. The pigeon does not appear to be frightened, and it is patiently waiting for the rat to finish its meal.
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Set 10
Set-11
Set-12
Set-13
Set-14
Set-15
Set-16
