There is something to be said for getting composition right in camera, of course, but that does not mean you should never use the tools available to you in post-production, particularly the ability to crop photos to be just right. If you want to improve your portraits, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you three cropping tips that will quickly improve the quality of your photos.
Coming to you from Chelsea Nicole Photography, this helpful video tutorial will give you some guidance on how to crop portraits to create more effective compositions using Lightroom. One particularly important bit of advice that it is easy to overlook when you are new to photography is to not crop at the joints (wrists, elbows, knees, ankles). It creates a distracting and unnatural look that pulls the viewer's eye out of the image and makes the body look strange. Rather, crop bodies along the torso, thighs, shin, or upper arms; this will look much more natural and will create a far more effective composition and overall photo. It is easy to forget about this when you are cropping, but if you make a mental note, you'll notice an immediate improvement in your portraits. Check out the video above for the full rundown.
Crop along the things? Should that be thighs?
Yes, it should. Thank you!
or one could properly compose their image, especially landscape and portrait photographers.