Photography Cropping Zones for Portraits

For those of you interested in the proper way to crop your photos, I’ve put together a cropping guide for portraits. Even if you’re a videographer, you will find this guide useful.

Personally, I think it demystifies the “crop” in your photo and provides you with some solid knowledge on cropping your portraits, or scenes.

Photography Cropping Zones for Portraits

	Full Shot
	Medium Full Shot (Cropped at the knees)
	Medium Shot
	Medium Close Shot (Cropped at the waist)
	Wide Close-up Shot (Cropped at the chest)
	Close-up Shot (The infamous close-up shot; typically used for head shots)
	Medium Close-up Shot
	Full Close-up Shot (or what is referred to as “Close-up” shot)
	The Extreme Close-up Shot (Focuses on facial features)

3 Responses to “Photography Cropping Zones for Portraits”

1. Emanual Rodrigo says:

   March 1, 2011 at 12:49 pm

   Great Post.Thank you so much for this list on cropping, it really helps me out!

   Reply
2. shane says:

   March 6, 2011 at 7:58 pm

   For what it’s worth, I was taught to never crop exactly at a joint, but always a bit above or below it. (So personally, I’d zoom in a little tighter on your medium full shot.)

   That minor difference-of-opinion aside, this is a really wonderful resource. Thanks so much for sharing it!

   Reply
   • Alyn says:

     March 6, 2011 at 8:07 pm

     Shane, thanks for the comment and sharing your personal perspective. I think it is a matter of personal style, but I can certainly see what you mean about cropping at the joints, it can look a tad “off.” It’s a great suggestion!

     Reply