Monochrome Madness,  Philippines,  Photographic techniques,  Travel galleries

Gallery: to crop or not to crop

March 20, 2025 / 38 Comments

In our landscapes, have we cropped out the tourists and the garbage in order to suggest 19th century America (which is to say, nostalgia), or have we cropped out what is truly irrelevant to our intentions as an artist? What photographers leave out is just as important as what they leave in.

John Rosenthal, American photographer

What we choose to leave out of a photograph matters as much as what we choose to include. And we are making such decisions every time we point our camera at a subject. But thanks to digital photography it is now very easy to make them retrospectively, when we come to edit our shots. Furthermore, we can take a single shot and test out a variety of options, including or omitting any number of elements.

Usually we experiment and settle on a favourite composition. Our decision may be based on what is most pleasing to our eye, and/or on what we want to say with the shot. In a portrait, do we include the setting or focus more tightly on our subject? In a landscape, are there objects in the foreground that will either enhance or detract from the shot? And so on …

But what if we were to choose multiple versions of a shot? How can we shape our choices to tell different stories about the same scene? That’s the challenge posed by Leanne for this week’s Monochrome Madness. I decided to take three very different images from the many I took recently in the Philippines and experiment with different crops. It was a very interesting exercise, forcing me to reconsider why I had taken each shot; whether there was a specific aspect of the scene I wanted to emphasise, and if so, how best to achieve that.

Here are the results; I’ll be very interested in your views!

MINILOC ISLAND

I took this shot from the jetty at Miniloc Island, off Palawan Island, where we spent the last few days of our trip relaxing. The full shot can be seen in my header, and was taken quite early in the morning. This crop omits the kayaker, leaving only the more traditional outrigger boat, and places more emphasis on the sky.

By cropping vertically I can make the scene seem further from the shore by eliminating the cliff on the left-hand side. I can also place the boat according to the ‘rule of thirds’, giving it more prominence. This is my own favourite in this set, alongside the original.

In this version I have cut out much of the scenery to focus on the two boats and the contrasts between them. I like the way the kayak is silhouetted against the lightest area of the sea.

THE CHOCOLATE HILLS

This shot was taken at a viewpoint overlooking the Chocolate Hills on Bohol Island, which I’ll cover properly in a future post. This is the version as I shot it, apart from the conversion to monochrome.

In this edit I’ve cut out the sky (which was rather flat and dull that day) and placed more emphasis on the visiting tourists, many of whom were engaged in shooting the sort of selfies that have no interest for me as a photographer (other than as an interesting spectacle!)

In contrast, here I have eliminated the other visitors completely. A viewer could be tricked into thinking this was a much more remote and tranquil place.

On the other hand, if I crop more tightly on the viewing platform, the tourists could really be anywhere, and we start to look more closely at their expressions and activities.

THE AMERICAN CEMETERY, MANILA

The American Cemetery in Manila has the largest number of graves of any cemetery for U.S. personnel killed during World War II and also holds war dead from the Philippines and other allied nations. It is a peaceful spot in an otherwise frantic city.

This vertical crop eliminates the apartment block that can be seen in the original, with the result that the cemetery appears to be in a more rural setting than is actually the case.

Here I have cut out most of the surroundings to concentrate on the rows of white headstones. The foreshortening by the zoom lens creates a sense of crowding, while the crop emphasises the orderly lines.

Cropping further draws attention to the presence of a few Star of David headstones among the crosses, where a Jewish combatant is buried, by placing one on the intersection of the ‘rule of thirds’ lines. I didn’t notice, by the way, anything other than crosses and stars.

I visited the Philippines in February and March 2025  

38 Comments

  • Suzanne@PictureRetirement

    March 22, 2025 at 18:40 Reply

    The Star of David was completely lost on me until the crop. Great example of when cropping is a good idea. I would have selected the same crop as you for the chocolate hills. Tourists in a photo is my #1 reason for cropping, although I will change the orientation with a crop when necessary. I appreciate your reasoning along with your examples. Nice work.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      March 22, 2025 at 19:35 Reply

      Thank you for the thoughtful reply Suzanne 🙂 Interestingly I took that Chocolate Hills photo deliberately to show the tourists! I have plenty that I took from the point where they are standing, where it was easy to get photos of the landscape with no people, but I thought it wouldn’t tell the whole story unless I also showed what it was really like there!

  • Amy

    March 22, 2025 at 14:02 Reply

    I really like your cropping photos, Sarah! These do give a nice focus/emphasis of the scene. Thank you for showing us the comparisons!

  • Leanne Cole

    March 22, 2025 at 03:03 Reply

    I think these are amazing Sarah, but for me the best one is the last one. I think I was even dreaming about that scene last night. You know I really love the last image the most. I think the reason is, because you have made us concentrate only on those crosses, but then there is one that is different, which I didn’t notice in any of the other images. In the other images you focus on all those grave markers and where they are, but you don’t notice that one Jewish marker, I’m assuming it is a Star of David on it. Then that last image is all about that single one and to me that is all I noticed. Fantastic.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      March 22, 2025 at 10:06 Reply

      Aw, thanks so much Leanne 😊 If you look closely at the wider shots you’ll see several Star of David markers, but you don’t really notice them among so many crosses.

  • grandmisadventures

    March 21, 2025 at 17:35 Reply

    It is so interesting just how different a picture can be and feel depending on what is cropped out or left in. I love how you show that in your pictures- one picture becomes 3 completely separate and different pictures with cropping

  • margaret21

    March 21, 2025 at 16:52 Reply

    I could, like you, make a case for any of these crops. What you’ve done is show what a difference each makes to how we perceive the shots. They truly each tell a different story, and show that you don’t need AI to muddy the waters – you can do it all by yourself with a judicious crop! Come to the Chocolate Hills – you’ll have them all to yourself! Come and see the Chocolate Hills with an experienced guide, and make lot of new friends while you’re there! And so on. Truly, the camera never lies ….

  • Rose

    March 20, 2025 at 21:02 Reply

    The vertical crop in the first set has me imagining we’re about to embark on a sailing adventure. The third crop in the second set certainly gives the illusion of being remote and tranquil. In the third set, the vertical crop of the lone tree in the middle of the grave markers adds to the sense of stoic sadness and loss.

  • Heyjude

    March 20, 2025 at 18:17 Reply

    Miniloc Island – the vertical crop works for me, though I actually prefer the original but I would crop out that top part of the sky as I find the brightness distracting. I tried comparing it with your third crop, but there is a difference. The chocolate hills without the tourists, but again I would also crop out that sky as well. With the American Cemetery I like both of the closely cropped images, but I also like the original with the apartment building. As you rightly say, each image tells a different story.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      March 20, 2025 at 18:38 Reply

      Thanks so much for these interesting comments Jude 🙂 I completely take your point about the brightness in the sky in the Miniloc Island shot, I should have considered that as one of my options!

  • Anne Sandler

    March 20, 2025 at 18:14 Reply

    I think cropping an image depends on what story the photographer wants to tell. What attracted them in the first place. Your first picture. I like the full landscape best; just the crowd the least. The full landscape tells the entire story and just the crowd tells no story. The boat and kayak. I like the first and last. One gives the story of a potential storm and the other shows the juxtaposition of two different kinds of boats. The graveyard. All your images tell a powerful story of war. I like the vertical crop because the tree is more prominent, trees mean life, amongst the graves. The leading lines still show in this image.

  • restlessjo

    March 20, 2025 at 17:59 Reply

    I think we often include more in a shot than is strictly necessary, knowing that it can be cropped afterwards, Sarah. I really liked your first image with the wonderfully moody background but I like the crop to the contrasting 2 boats on the silvery sea too. The close crop of the cemetery is a bit special, I think xx

  • Steve Hyde

    March 20, 2025 at 16:58 Reply

    That’s an interesting question. Your examples are starting out from an excellent initial image and I think for that reason all the crops work well. I tend to shoot for stock so I usually leave my image as it was taken and then let whoever buys it decide how they want to edit it. That’s quite hard to do with some images. I do sometimes crop in to put the subject on a third. That first image is one of those you look at and think ‘I wish I’d shot that.’ 🙂

    • Sarah Wilkie

      March 20, 2025 at 17:51 Reply

      Thank you Steve 🙂 Yes, shooting stock photos is a very different exercise to shooting for pleasure. And you’re right not to crop them much as a buyer can always do that if needed but can’t ever add back what you’ve taken out! Thanks for the kind words about my first image 😊

  • Monkey's Tale

    March 20, 2025 at 15:25 Reply

    Cropping is an artform. I don’t take many pictures, and I don’t process (crop) any of them, that’s Richard’s job. My favourites of these are in order – 3rd, 3rd and 1st. Maggie

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