Aspect Ratio, Very Important!

Wednesday 11 September 2019, 17:17 by Michelle Peeters | 5,024 views | 3 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

This video by Tony and Chelsea Northrup explains what aspect ratio is and why it matters. It shows how things can go wrong when a client wants a particular aspect ratio and you have framed your photo too tightly.

The video strongly advises you to always frame loosely and to shoot everything in the most common aspect ratios, such as 2:3, 3:4, 9:16 or 1:1, so that you have everything covered.

The article 25 photography terms you need to know also explains in detail what aspect ratio is, in case it is still not completely clear after watching the video above.

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About the author

Michelle Peeters is fotografe en oprichter van DeuxBleus Fotografie. Michelle herkent het bijzondere in het gewone en het gewone in het bijzondere. Ze heeft zich nooit willen specialiseren en is daardoor van alle markten thuis.

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3 comments

Dick wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2019 at 16:16 | reply
Well, I always get incredibly annoyed by those iPhone photographers who shoot their photos in the communication (phone) position. Especially when filming. I don't know how it is with them, but my eyes are in a horizontal plane. Sometimes I feel like putting my TV on its side when I see such a video, but that doesn't help either With photos of 1 person or with a portrait I can still imagine it, but generally I take photos horizontally, even with 1 person but then with a decent background on the left and/or right. For commercial photography that is of course a bit more nuanced. But anyway, to each their own.
Translated from Dutch.

Elja Trum wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2019 at 16:43 | reply
@Dick; I myself also prefer shooting horizontally (and certainly filming). And I understand your resistance.

Still, there is also something to be said for people who film in portrait mode. Many videos are nowadays also watched on a phone in that mode.

If your videos are mainly watched by people on a phone, then it also makes sense to shoot your videos that way. After all, a video in landscape mode viewed on a smartphone in portrait mode is incredibly small.
Translated from Dutch.

Dwarsje wrote on Tuesday 17 September 2019 at 18:14 | reply
He showed the landscape photos in portrait orientation. So if you have a lot of landscape photos, you just turn your iPhone a quarter turn.
Translated from Dutch.

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