P52 Week 41 – Aspect Ratio – Kitsap Lifestyle Photographer

Week 41 of working through David DuChemin’s book “The Visual Toolbox” was an interesting experiment for me. This week was all about aspect ratio.

Aspect ratio is a whole compositional element that I almost never consider or play with, but I really should. When I shoot for clients and present their galleries it’s in a 2:3 ratio because that ratio is the default ratio of the camera but also it (generally) provides a good ratio for cropping to common print sizes.

However, sometimes an image just looks so much better in a square crop, or a 16:9 ratio. So for this week I chose one image and experimented with different aspect ratios. For the record, my favorite crop is the 4:5 ratio.

This image is an image of my little one on a chilly little day when we decided to explore Manchester State Park in Port Orchard, Washington. I’m a little obsessed with this kiddo’s eyelashes which, by the way, he totally got from his dad and not me. So I’m always trying to get a good dramatic eyelash shot, which isn’t always easy cause my little guy is constantly on the move.