Pascal Baetens. Nude Photography. The Art and The Craft. 2007

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Image quality

Definition is lost if you want the cropped print to be the same size as the original.

1 72 dots per inch (dpi) is suitable only for on-screen viewing.

2 150 dpi is adequate if the picture is not to be viewed from close quarters.

3 200 dpi is sufficiently high resolution for a picture with no close-up detail.

4 300 dpi is the optimum quality for print.

136 postproDuction

cropping & reframing

sometimes, circumstances force you to take a picture with

the idea of cropping it later. Just as often, you will realize later

that an image could be improved by cropping. Experimenting

with crops is a good exercise even if you are perfectly happy

with the original image, as it helps to build your awareness of

composition. the images below show three successful crops

from the same image. A good way to explore crops is to

cut two L shapes from cardboard and lay them on the print

to form rectangles of various sizes and formats; on screen,

you can experiment with image editing software. remember

that, whether you’re using a negative or a digital file, enlarging

a small part of a frame will make the image less sharp.