I resisted cropping photos mightily when I first went digital.
I still think it's best to do as much cropping as possible when you actually take the photo (i.e. in the view finder). However, there are circumstances where you just can't do it and still get what you want.
I'll leave cropping "rules" to others, as I do much of my photography work by "feel." I can, however, give you some reasons to crop. Here's one.
Sometimes you can't get close enough to your subject.
On the Fourth of July my husband and I went to an Independence Day parade. I saw these cool guys on roller skates. I knew I wanted to make a photo of his feet/legs, but I couldn't get close enough.
So I took this photo.
And cropped it like this.
By cropping, I draw the viewer's eye to what I want him to look at.
By the way, even though we do own PhotoShop, I do most of my editing using the FastStone Image Viewer. It's freeware, so you don't have to pay a penny to use it.
Give cropping a try, and let us know how it goes! Or share your cropped photos and any tips you might have over at our forum right now!
When she's not taking photographs, Rebecca blogs at Ramblings by Reba.
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Fun Feet! I like your crop!
Love it! BTW – I had to crop some, uh, 'lil boy parts' out of that shot of bubbles in my Weekly Winners a few weeks ago. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF CROPPING!