Mastering Aspect Ratios in Photography - Crucial for Your Expression!

[@LeStalker343]

Loved this video. Learned a lot.

[@sallyjberry805]

Thank you, Jonas, for your informative and artistic view on this topic. I like to print my work and recently started showing in some gallery shows. In the past, I did better with a free form ratio for my desired composition rather than try to "force" into aspect ratios. Interestingly, my compositions fall similar to what your video describes. So I plan to rethink my strategy and try your crop ratios for consistency, especially when they are on display. I very much appreciate your expertise and beautiful images. Great information!

[@Sebastian-lw1ei]

Thank you for talking about aspect ratios. So important but so ignored by many photographers

[@chriscummins4282]

Liking jazz and photography, it worked for me. Enjoyed the video. Thanks for doing it .

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thanks Chris!

[@kabelommono8015]

Love it..easy to follow and very informative..I love how you use your beautiful work to illustrate your choice of aspect ratio!

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thank you so much!

[@calieeldalie2547]

Very interesting, I will go back to my photos, old and recent, to see what I've chosen and if it evolved somehow naturally with practice Thanks for the detailed explanations!

[@TheLinuxGallery-qz2vs]

I started talking to some friends of mine who are into filmmaking, and they brought to my attention that a horizontal frame lends itself to an expansive and free feeling; and diminishes the subject's importance in the narrative the frame is conveying. Vertical and square frames tend to create a more intimate experience, and draw you into a visual dialogue with the subject. I noticed that the pictures that you showed, which were expressing an expansiveness, followed that rule -- either by virtue of the photo's actual aspect ratio, or by a synthetic aspect ratio made with framing and negative space. The vertical and square aspect ratios, where the entire frame was used, were filled with objects that create an intimate portrait with their arrangement. I have to say I didn't like the pictures of the monkeys, because they feel like they should be very important subjects in their own portraits; but they have a sort of feeling like they don't matter in the context, and they're being swallowed up by the jungle -- which I think I'm getting from the 2:3 aspect ratio.

[@belindaschindler1703]

Thank you so much for this. It helps me more than you know. And I must say your images are simply amazing. So beautiful.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thank you Belinda!

[@philipphill9518]

It has been a while since I have stumbled upon a youtube channel that is as delightful as yours. Subscribed :)

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thanks Philip! That’s really great to hear!

[@davidhuth5659]

I started listening to jazz when I was a teenager. My gateway drug was jazz fusion however, but it led me to Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, It doesn't get any cooler and it's not just for old guys! Although, I am an old guy now.Thanks for the great lesson!

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Hi David, I was 100% an indie rock and punk kid. Started listening to jazz a couple of years ago! Discovering great artists all the time - Miles Davis is a favourite but I am finding myself listening to the Toure-Raichel Collective's "The Paris Session" a lot lately! Thanks for watching!

[@davidhuth5659]

@@JonasPaurellUnscripted I'll have to check out Raichel Collective's! Thanks!

[@jaspercaelan4998]

I see a lot of people always shoot in 3:2 when a simple change of aspect ratio could make such a huge improvement or solve a compositional problem. My main ratios are usually 4:3, 4:5, 5:7, 1:1, 16:9 but I'll occasionally use some others like 6:7 or 65:24. I don't generally like 3:2 but for street photography I think it's the best, not really sure why that is, maybe because so much of it is done in 3:2.

[@Doddleran]

Never knew I'd find this topic so interesting.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Haha That is great! Thanks for watching!

[@tedgoldman9121]

Introduced me to 4x5 for portrait mode. I love it, thanks!

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Hey Ted! That’s great! Happy shooting!!

[@jasonzakszewski3718]

Absolute amazing video. Your voice and the jazz is very soothing!

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thanks Jason! More coming!

[@3irik]

This is really important stuff 🎉

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thanks 🙏

[@cmichaelhaugh8517]

Very interesting discussion. Ever since I discovered 16:9, I have loved that ratio - for all the same reasons that you mentioned in talking about 2:1.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

It’s a great aspect ratio, for sure!

[@mleczyk3077]

Hi, do you shoot in those ratios or do you adjust them in post?

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Hello, no I always crop in post. I like my workflow in the field to be simple…changing aspect ratios would just add an extra unnecessary step. Thanks!

[@mleczyk3077]

@@JonasPaurellUnscripted thank you very much

[@Narsuitus]

Thanks for a great video on aspect ratios. I shoot the following aspect ratios 1:1, 6:7, 4:5, 3:4, 2:3, 1:2, and 1:2.8 The 1:1 aspect ratio was my favorite until I tried 6:7

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

It is amazing how big a difference it can make to the images!

[@joeplumber4078]

Thanks, Jonas. I liked your rationale on the aspect ratios, but do you have any thoughts on 4x3?

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Hey Joe, To me, 4x3 is very close to 4x5 - I would almost use them interchangeably. For horizontals - I personally prefer 2x3. For verticals - I prefer 4x5 - but 4x3 is so very close. For example, if I had a camera that shot 4x3 natively - then I wouldn't crop to 4x5.

[@joeplumber4078]

@@JonasPaurellUnscripted Thanks a ton, Jonas!!! The GFX indeed shoots 4x3 natively, so it has become a bit of a natural choice, with the flexibility to alter depending on the composition.

[@petevonschondorf4609]

Great stuff, but a question. I'm retired so semi-fixed income. Took up photography again 5 years ago to augment my watercolor painting so I didn't dive too deep into gear. That said I use a Nikon 7000 16 mega pixel camera and 5 of the typical lenses. Painting is going ok and that's ok, but some of my photo's are a hit. Looked at your pano video and now this, so I may need some gear upgrades. Speaking of which my photo prints make me gringe, because of resolution and possibly lens softness, yes I pixel peep, but I have standards. Not buying a Nikon Z but maybe I can sell a kidney, but just speaking of mega pixels what should I be looking at for prints 18 to 24 inches wide? That also seems to be where photo customer interest is.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Hey Pete! Congratulations on taking up photography! To print 24inch long side, I’d say that 24mp is a good start. That achieves almost 300 ppi long side of the print. That will work great. You don’t need that much more, unless you want to crop, or print bigger. Good luck!

[@shamanbeartwo3819]

I am in the exact same boat. I shot with my Nikon D5200 for years (24MP, crop format) with the kit lenses. So, I saved for a few months over the winter and upgraded to a second hand Nikon D850 (45MP full frame) which I got for $1,299US with only 3,971 clicks on the shutter. Added a 50mm 1.8G for $90 and now a 85mm 1.8G for $275. I just took a printing workshop from Canon and their top guy was telling us he always carries his phone around 'cause...wait for it, the phone has 45MP same as a Nikon Z9. Then he said that would be suitable for a poster sized print. He had already told us his first photography job was working for Richard Avedon before he went pro so I listened:) No, the phone does not allow shutter speeds, lenses, adding ND filters etc. but he told us the best camera is always the one in your hand:) If a D850 is still out of range, I believe the 810 does 36MP. Either one and all of your lenses are good to go.

[@dominicvacher7967]

Crib Goch is a ridge on an approach to Snowdon. Your picture is of Tryfan mountain. :)

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Right you are! Thanks for reminding me!

[@yukonica4560]

Well, this was an easy like/subscribe/notice decision. I’ve discovered an affinity for my 45mm TS-E while shooting panoramas. I haven’t tried using a rail to centre its nodal point over the column axis. If it works the range of any pano would be crazy.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thank you! For a shift lens, no nodal rail is required. At least as long as you only shift the lens and don't rotate the camera (they it was intended). If you start rotating the camera, the shift function would not be used and you would need a nodal rail or a full 360 pano head... that way you can get 360 panos.

[@Narsuitus]

I liked your choice of Royalty free jazz you played in the background. Some of it sounded a lot like Coltrane. Just for your information, I met John Coltrane on three occasions when he performed in Chicago in the 1960s.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thanks! Wow that must have been an experience to see live!

[@huf67]

Good video..... Were all of the boom microphones rented out already ?

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Nothing beats a good hypercardioid dynamic mic for quality in my view!

[@ulhasarolkar]

BEAUTIFUL...

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thank you!

[@kevins8575]

And the most amazing thing is that photo papers come in the ISO standard format of square root of 2 to 1, yet I know of no camera that uses that ratio.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Oh god. I didn’t think on that. Now I have to revisit every aspect ratio haha

[@ThePhotofit]

I was so interested in listening to your commentary but the volume of the FOREGROUND music was too competitive. Do you think you could publish this video without any music? Honestly, it doesn’t need it. The information you are conveying is sufficient

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Thank you! I’ll keep that in mind for future videos!

[@RKO1949]

Say hello to Cecilia when you're in Longyearbyn.

[@linjicakonikon7666]

I disagree strongly with your opinion about vertical 2:3. They can have a powerful effect when showing foreground/background relationships. I shoot 2:3 (35mm and 6x9), 1:1(6x6) and 3:1(6x17). 6x7 and 4x5 are too boxy, passive and constrictive.

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

I am grateful that we don’t all agree on everything ☺️ how boring the world would be! My dislike of vertical 2x3s is definitely not changing any time soon haha. Thanks for watching!

[@glensumner3425]

Jazz isn’t dead, it just smells a bit funky 🤔

[@JonasPaurellUnscripted]

Haha 😝