A photograph is captured in one shape, and a crop removes part of it. A wide frame can often become a tall one, but only if the subject and the space around it allow. Compositions you need, such as banners, posters or covers, should be discussed before the event so they can be planned at capture.
Photographs are not infinitely flexible. A single frame has a fixed shape and a fixed amount of detail. Cropping can change the shape, but it cannot add what was never recorded. Knowing this early helps you ask for the right thing at the right time.
What do portrait and landscape mean?
A portrait photograph is taller than it is wide. A landscape photograph is wider than it is tall. The photographer holds the camera in one orientation or the other for each frame, and chooses based on the subject and the setting.
A wide hall, a long table or a stage suits landscape. A single speaker or a standing couple often suits portrait. Group photographs are usually landscape because people stand side by side. Neither orientation is better. They suit different uses.
What does a crop do?
A crop removes the outer part of the frame. It makes the photograph tighter and can change its shape. Cropping a wide frame into a tall one means keeping a slice from the middle and discarding both sides.
Two limits follow. First, you can only keep what is inside the frame. If there is no space around a face, a banner crop will cut it. Second, a crop reduces the number of pixels. A tight crop that looks fine on a phone can look soft when enlarged for a poster. The photo print size calculator shows the size a file suits.
Why should shapes be decided before the event?
Because the best fix is capture. If you tell the team that the cover of your report is tall, they can take a few key moments in portrait, with space above the subject for a title. This cannot be done afterwards from a frame that has the subject at the edge.
For this reason, we ask about intended uses in the brief. Whether specific alternative compositions can be captured on your day is confirmed in writing. We do not assume it. Use the priority photograph list builder to mark which moments need more than one shape.
Which uses need which shape?
| Use | Usual shape | What to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Website banner | Very wide | Space left and right of the subject |
| Poster or standee | Tall | Space above and below the subject |
| Social post | Square or tall | A central subject |
| Report page | Either | Check the layout with the designer |
| Album spread | Wide, across two pages | A subject away from the centre fold |
Layouts differ, so treat this as a starting point. Ask the designer or printer for exact sizes. Our guidance on photographs for company websites and annual reports covers business layouts, and what to approve before an album or print is produced covers print.
A worked example
For example, imagine a company launch event. The marketing team will use one hero image as a wide website banner and also as a tall poster at the next event.
If they only mention the banner, the team may frame the key shot wide, with the speaker in the centre and the screen behind. A tall poster crop from that frame would keep the speaker but lose the screen, and might leave no space for a headline. If they mention both in the brief, the team can capture the moment twice, wide and tall. The marketing team then has two clean files, with no cropping compromise.
How should you request a crop afterwards?
Name the photograph by file name. State the shape and the final size, and what it will be used for. Say what must stay in the frame. This lets the request be judged on facts. Some crops work and some do not, and an honest answer saves time.
If a crop would lose essential content, our page on requesting a different crop without losing essential image content explains the alternatives. For the wider delivery process, see event photo delivery, editing and preservation. If a copy looks smaller than the original, read why a shared photograph may look smaller or softer.
Checklist
- List every shape you expect to use: banner, poster, cover, square.
- Note the final size of each.
- Mark the key moments that need alternative shapes.
- Tell the team before the event.
- Ask whether portrait and landscape versions of key moments can be planned.
- Request crops by file name, with the final use.
Tell us the shapes and sizes you expect to use, and we will confirm in writing how the coverage can be planned around them.
Tell us the crops we needCommon questions
Can any landscape photograph be cropped to portrait?
Only if the subject sits in a position that survives the crop. A person standing in the centre usually works. A group spread across the frame does not. The frame must also be large enough for the final use, since a tight crop discards pixels.
What is the difference between a crop and a different photograph?
A crop cuts away part of one frame. A different photograph is a separate frame, taken from another angle or in another orientation. If you need a tall version of a key moment, the best way is to ask for it to be captured that way.
Can a crop be added to the delivery later?
Routine crop requests can be raised through the delivery contact named in the agreement. Whether a particular crop works depends on the photograph. Say what the final use is, so the request is judged against that.
Do square crops for social media work from any photograph?
Often, but not always. A square keeps a central area and removes the sides. Check that important faces and details remain in the centre.
Tell us the crops we need
Tell us the shapes and sizes you expect to use, and we will confirm in writing how the coverage can be planned around them.
What happens next: You send your event details on WhatsApp. Our team reads the brief, asks what is missing, then confirms in writing whether the date, venue and coverage can be booked, with a quotation. Opening WhatsApp does not send anything, and a message is not a booking until both sides confirm.
Last reviewed: