The Fate of Cropped Image Parts and Best Practices for Professional Photographers

Cropping a picture is a common task in photography and graphic design, but have you ever wondered what happens to the remaining parts of the image after cropping? This article explores the disposition of these parts, provides insights into the technical aspects of image editing, and offers best practices for photographers to maintain image quality and preserve original data.

Understanding Cropping and Image Disposal

When you crop an image, the remaining part of the image is essentially discarded. Unless you specifically save a copy of the original image with the selected portion, the discarded part is not saved or stored anywhere. Most image editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, treats cropping as a modification that, if not saved, results in a permanent change. The cropped areas are removed from the image, and unless you undo the action or save a new version, the original image with the cropped area is lost.

In non-destructive editing software like Adobe Photoshop with layers, the cropped areas may remain accessible in the original file until you flatten or permanently apply the crop. However, in standard formats like JPEG or PNG, once the cropped image is saved, the discarded parts are lost permanently. These remaining elements, whether physical or digital, often end up in the trash, either literally (in a physical trash can) or figuratively (in a digital trash can).

The Technical Process of Cropping

Cropping can be done with or without enlargement. Enlarging the cropped portion results in the same size output but may make the grain or noise more visible. Cropping without enlarging produces a smaller image size output with grain/noise visibility the same as the original uncropped image. This is because cropping reduces the total pixel count, which can lead to less noticeable artifacts.

Preserving Image Quality with RAW Files

Photographers, especially professional ones, often use raw formats instead of JPEG for capturing images. RAW files retain all the information from the camera's sensor, preserving the data that can be lost during the JPEG compression process. This means that even if you crop a raw file, the original data remains intact. You can always go back and re-edit the image with the full original data.

However, once a raw file is converted to a JPEG, the process of lossy compression begins, and the image quality starts to diminish. Consecutive edits on a JPEG file will further reduce image quality due to the progressive loss of data with each edit. Professional photographers often retain the original raw file and save JPEG copies for printing, submitting, or sharing.

Best Practices for Professional Photographers

Here are some best practices for photographers to maintain image quality and preserve original data:

Use RAW Format: Capture images in RAW format to retain all the original data from the camera's sensor. Retain the Original File: Always keep a backup of the original raw file to ensure you can always re-edit the image without losing data. Use Non-Destructive Editing: Employ non-destructive editing methods like layers in Adobe Photoshop to ensure that original data is preserved until intentionally flattened. Save High-Quality JPEGs: For sharing and printing, save high-quality JPEG files, but always go back to the original raw file for any further editing or retouching.

Understanding the fate of cropped image parts and following these best practices will help photographers maintain image quality and ensure that important data is not lost during the editing process.