One of the most important things to do in photo composition is to decide the crop.

A tight crop can be good, like here in my dinner last month:

That tight cop makes it simple, and simplicity is everything in photos – and it draws attention to the subject win a clear manner. So that’s a good crop.

Other crops are less obvious. For example this photo:

That’s all good – except if you were to frame it. The frame’;s mat would cut off the photo very close to, or even on, the top of the head.

Also: you need to crop for the frame. And a 4×6 has a different shape from an 8×10, for example.

So the wise thing to do is to shoot a little wide, so you can crop the image to size later. Do not have your subject touch the edges of the photo, in most cases!

We can often add extra sides to your photo that we fill in to look natural, by the way. Like when you ask us to print a 4×6 as an 8×10! But if you shoot wide ion the first place, it isn’t necessary, and that saves you money!