A common question I see asked is regarding the making of prints and the cropping that can result. Basically, what happens is this: someone carefully frames a scene a certain way in the viewfinder (or on the LCD in "live view" mode) based on their intended artistic representation of the scene, takes a photograph, this image continues to look the same way on the computer with regards to the elements included in the scene. However, when they order prints of this image, elements near the edge are chopped off and the integrity of the original image, with regards to including everything as was photographed originally, is compromised.
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| If you print "full-frame" on paper that doesn't match your image's aspect ratio, you will have "letterbox" borders like this, but no edge detail will be lost. |
This is commonly called cropping and it is the result of two things: (a) the mismatch of the "aspect ratio" of the original image vs the resulting print and (b) priority tending to being placed on having a print without borders versus the priority being placed on maintaining all of the original details, because the mismatch of aspect ratios means if you wish to maintain all of the details, there will be "letterbox" borders extending down the long-end of the print, which most people find undesirable.
Allow me to expand on this a bit. My expansion is probably not the best explanation, and so I will link to other articles I have found on this topic which may expand on this better than I have.
What Are Aspect Ratios Anyway?
The sensor in every camera tends to be of a rectangular shape, and tends to have what is referred to as a "3:2" aspect ratio. This means that when you measure the length of the sensor & the width of the sensor and then express these measurements as a fraction as in Length / Width, the measurements, broken down to the lowest common denominator (as in 12 / 4 = 3 / 1), results in a 3/2 or 3:2 ratio. This dates back to when 35mm film cameras produced images on the film which measured 24x36mm (width-length) or 36x24mm (length-width), which resulted in a 3:2 aspect ratio (36 / 24 = 3 / 2). As DSLR camears sought to replicate the 35mm SLR experience as much as possible, these aspect ratio characteristics, on a smaller scale, were maintained. If you express this 3:2 aspect ratio in decimal format, the number would be 1.3333 (3 divided by 2 with the .3 repeating endlessly into infinity).
3:2 vs 2:3 (L/W vs W/L)
It becomes confusing insomuch that most articles, when referring to the aspect ratio of the camera's output, quote the image in length by width format, which would be 3:2, but print sizes (5x7, 8x10 etc) are commonly quoted the other way, in width by length format, which would make the aspect ratio 2:3 (the numbers have been "flipped"). In order to keep things clear and to be consistent, so as to prevent confusion and getting "lost in the numbers"--from this point forward, I will refer to the aspect ratios in width by length, which would be expressed as 2:3, regardless of whether I'm discussing the camera's output or the resulting print itself. (The decimal format of this number, 2 divided by 3, would be 0.66666667.)
Priority of Borderless vs "Full Frame"
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| On the other hand, if you print "borderless" on paper that doesn't match your image's aspect ratio, you lose detail on the edges, shown here in blue-green. (Both photo via 1st link, bottom of page.) |
Most people don't want borders in their images, and so in order for an image with 2:3 ratios to print, say, to an 8x10 sheet of printing paper (which has an aspect ratio of 8 / 10 = 4:5, or 0.80) without any borders, you have to keep enlarging past to where the respective lengths (image to paper) match up in order for the width dimensions to "fill up." Thus, edge detail length-wise tends to be lost. In other words, when you enlarge the original image of a 2:3 image to 8 inches wide, the actual image will be 12 inches long. (The way you calculate this figure: convert the image's 2:3 aspect ratio to decimal format {0.66667} and then DIVIDE the width (8) by this number to get the length (12). Or, "flip" the 2:3 number to 3:2, which would be 1.5 in decimal format, and then MULTIPLY this by the width (8) to get the length (12).)
Thus, in the case of an 8x10 print, you are actually outputting an 8x12 IMAGE onto 8x10 PAPER, thus losing 1" of detail alongside each edge, or 2" total out of the 12 inches that actually exist. (Those you're losing about 17% of the image length-details speaking.) Here are some common print sizes & what things look like if you print "borderless" or if you print "full-frame" (I clarify the terms in greater detail below):
Thus, in the case of an 8x10 print, you are actually outputting an 8x12 IMAGE onto 8x10 PAPER, thus losing 1" of detail alongside each edge, or 2" total out of the 12 inches that actually exist. (Those you're losing about 17% of the image length-details speaking.) Here are some common print sizes & what things look like if you print "borderless" or if you print "full-frame" (I clarify the terms in greater detail below):
| Print Size |
Aspect Ratio
(Vs 2:3) |
Actual Image Size "Borderless"
|
Actual Image Size "Full-Frame"
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| 8x10 | 2.4 / 3 (0.80) | The "borderless" print will lose 1" of detail on each side length-wise; the "full-frame" print will be smaller than the paper by 0.65 inches width-wise & a border will run the "long way" top & bottom on account of this. | ||
| 11x14 | 2.3571 / 3 (0.7857) | The "borderless" print will lose 1.25" of detail on either side length-wise; the "full-frame" print will have an image 0.835" smaller than the paper & a border will run the "long way" top & bottom on account of this. | ||
| 16x20 | 2.4 / 3 (0.80) |
16x24
|
13.333x20
| The "borderless" print will lose 2" of detail on each side length-wise; the "full-frame" print will be smaller than the paper by 1.333 inches width-wise & a border will run the "long way" top & bottom on account of this. |
Since few labs offer these unorthodox print sizes, as 5x7/8x10/11x14 etc have long been established as "norms," most people print to these sizes and accept the compromises that result from the mismatches. This is commonly referred to as borderless printing. Also, it's not uncommon for photographers, anticipating this mis-match, to compensate for it when they compose their image to start with, leaving extra room around the edges so that, when this is done, no heads are chopped off & the like. (Some photographers, like me, insist on NOT taking this into account when composing & insisting that the resulting image match the composition, which the "full-frame" option, coming up next, tends to address.)
However, some labs DO offer print sizes such as 8x12, 12x18 or 16x24 which are 2:3 and thus do not create any mismatches. The trouble is, it's difficult to find picture frames that size, since 8x10/11x14 et have become so common. (To a lesser extent, 12x18 has become a common size so finding frames for it may not be as difficult.) Finally, print sizes such as 20x30 and 4x6 are 2:3 to start with, so you have no issues there.
The other option is to enlarge to where the length matches up (instead of the width) and the result will be the width of the paper is greater than the width of the original image, thus you will have white borders on the edge. Thus, in the case of an 8x10 print, you are actually outputting a 6.7 x 10 print to 8 x 10 paper (10 MULTIPLIED by the 0.66667 decimal number). Many persons find these white borders objectionable, as they closely resemble the "letterbox" viewing experience once sees when watching a wide-screen DVD on a non-wide screen television. This is commonly referred to as full-frame printing.
It's worth noting that, with borderless printing, often-times the compromise isn't obvious, you don't notice the edge detail being lost unless you compare the image & print side-by-side, or unless the edge detail lost is something obvious, like a chopped-off head in a portrait. By contrast, with full-frame-printing, the borders are obvious. Thus, many people choose borderless, often-times not realizing what's going on.
In Short
To work around these headaches, you basically have these options:
PS
Some cameras, most notably smartphone cameras or point & shoot cameras, tend to have a different aspect ratio altogether, more along the lines of 3:4 (decimal format 0.75), commonly expressed as 4:3 (again width x length vs length x width), in which case all the numbers change, although the principle remains the same. Thus, in the case of an 8x10, a "borderless" print will have an 8 x 10.677 image (8, the width, DIVIDED by 0.75), a "full-frame" one would have a 7.5 x 10 inch image (10, the length, MULTIPLED by 0.75).
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