May 26 2008
Photo cutting and cropping
Unless you happen to moonlight as a professional photographer, you’ve probably considered cropping your photos to make a more appealing scrapbook layout. When done carefully, this can be a great way to enhance the subject of your photo. If you’re careless, however, photo cutting and cropping can be a mistake you’ll regret for several years to come.
The first rule of any scrapbook technique that involves permanently altering your photos is to make a copy of the picture first. NEVER cut or crop an original, irreplaceable photo! If it’s not a picture from your digital camera, scan it or take it to a local copy shop before you start your layout.
Next, consider the importance of background details. Cropping is a great way to eliminate clutter from a photo, but sometimes this extra “stuff” has a deeper sentimental meaning. Future generations may want to know what Grandma’s couch looked like in her first apartment or what color Aunt Mary painted her kitchen in 1995. Using a mixture of cropped and uncropped photos is often the best way around this dilemma.
A final word of caution—think twice before cutting your photos into hearts, stars, or other novelty shapes. The occasional circular photo can be appealing, but too many shaped photos looks dated and amateurish.
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