Monday 5 September 2011

Cropping and context

I guess this is what could be called a 'street portrait', as it captures an expression and sort of works as a composition.


But it's not what I saw - and failed to capture well.


The point is that cropping can alter the meaning of a photograph. No doubt that is why early Magnum photographers filed away the edges of their negative carriers so a whole frame would be printed with a rough black border. The whole frame and nothing but the frame. Does cropping matter? I suppose it depends on how the photograph is used and the intentions of the photographer.

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