Crop Tool

[ROA44]

When cropping a photo I usually use the free crop option in ViewNX but wondering if I should use the ratio option instead, does it really matter or does it help for when you do prints. Or is it a case of what works best for each situation

[jjnic]

If you crop to standard ratios it is cheaper/easier to buy frames to suit if you want to display your pics
jj

[wmvaux]

It depends on what you plan on doing with the photo. If you want to put it in a frame, you'll be wanting to crop it with certain dimensions. If your wanting to display it on the web, you would crop it differently.
The other thing to take note is I'm not sure with ViewNX, but Photoshop gives you a rule of thirds grid when cropping, so you can crop and still keep the photo in the correct composition. It's not just a matter of cropping here and there and that looks close enough, professionals will make sure the composition is correct. If this is all new to you, I would suggest having a look on youtube for rule of thirds to help you out.

[ROA44]

Thank you wmvaux. The way I've been doing with birds is to crop closer to the end of the tail feathers and leave space in front of the bird and minimizing any distractions where possible and if all that can accommodate the 3rd's rule then I try to remember that as well. I haven't been looking so much from a print aspect, still trying to get better shots more consistently.

[arthurking83]

I wouldn't worry too much about rules and stuff like that.
For easier and/or distortion free printing it's usually best to stick to standard aspect ratios.

Of course if you have a non standard aspect ratio print to create, this is not hard, it's just not as easy.

FWIW: I use both methods .. freehand(very rarely) and preset ratios(99%). it just depends on the image itself.

[swifty]

Like everyone said, it does make life easy if you're likely to make standard prints, particularly in batches.
For single large prints, I'd just deal with the additional minor hassle if it means a non-standard crop works better.
For digital publishing do whatever pleases you but be aware your standard monitors rarely do justice to panoramic ratios, particularly very detailed ones.
One thing about using non-standard ratios is you have more freedom to explore creative crops you haven't considered before.