Jude Kai

What are Aspect Ratios and Why Should An Artist Give a Crop About Them?

An aspect ratio is the ratio between the length and width of something. Aspect ratios are a shorthand way of describing the shape of things. In two-dimensional paintings, most aspect ratios describe rectangles and squares.

As a beginning painter, I never really paid attention to aspect ratios. I bought whatever boards or canvases were on sale. Size and shape didn’t matter because I was just using them to practice painting. Mostly, I thought of in terms of “small, medium, large, and too big for me to afford.”

When I began work on my artist’s website, I didn’t pay much attention to cropping the photos I took of my work—I just tried to get the entire picture in, even though it wasn’t exactly perfect in shape. I concentrated on accurate color and sharp focus, and some of my photos showed the edge of the painting (where the canvas started wrapping over the sides). And when I cropped photos in general, I only paid attention to what I wanted to include or omit. I never thought much about the measurements or the shape (i.e. aspect ratio).

Then I started shopping online for frames for my canvases. Eye-opening. Frames seemed to come in a limited number of shapes and sizes. Anything beyond that required custom mats and frames---much pricier.

But still, I didn’t truly put two and two together until I photographed my paintings and sketch book images and posted them to my website to sell as Art Prints. The platform of my artist’s website is called Artspan, and one of their services to their artists is they will mat and frame any of my prints for my customers. To take advantage of this arrangement, I submit a really good photo of an artwork and then they calculate what size prints they can make for me, based on that photo.

First of all, I immediately had many photos rejected because the imagery/colors in the painting didn’t “bleed” all the way out to the edge. No shadowy colors dropping off a rounded edge were allowed—All four outer edges had to be crisp and clean. (Note: This is true only in situations where prints are being made from the photos…Many artists prefer to photograph their paintings in a more natural setting, showing edge shadows and all.)

Second, I learned that if my photos did not have aspect ratios that corresponded to the most common frame shapes, it made it difficult to offer standard frames without losing part of my my painting’s details. While the clarity and pixel count of a photo are the major determinants of what size prints can be made, the aspect ratio also appears to play a role.

I realized that it was really helpful to learn about the standard aspect ratios found in many paintings and art photos, and that lesson is what I’d like to share with you now:

 

Here’s a diagram that I made showing some of the most common aspect ratios of two-dimensional art. 

The ratio is a number that results, in this case, from
dividing the shorter side by the longer side. If all four
sides are equal, the ratio is 1:1 = a square.

As you scroll down the page here, you’ll see that
as the aspect ratios get smaller, the black rectangles
get squatter (flatter). This can help when you’re trying
to figure out how to crop a portion of an image—an
aspect ratio of .80 is going to be much fuller than that
of .66, which is flatter by comparison.

If you have a good photo editing program, you can
ask it to automatically set the shape of your cropping boundaries.

For example, say you want a 3:4 (.75) aspect ratio.
   --According to the diagram at right, you could tell the crop tool to set the boundaries at
12 in and 16 in. The cropping box will have a .75 aspect ratio. Just enlarge/decrease the crop box and move it where it works for you.
 
  --If you want to work with pixels, start by dividing the smaller number by the larger. Examine the ratio decimal—if you’re within .005 of one of the common aspect ratios at right, you’re probably good to go.
So .714 is fine, and .805 is fine—just double-check with your print maker to be sure.

Note: the aspect ratios stay the same whether the picture is horizontal or vertical.

But what if you have a photo whose aspect ratio is, say, .78 (such as a photo that’s 2000 x 2560 pixels). That’s about midway between .75 and .80 (see above diagram). How you set your crop depends on whether you want an image that’s closer to square (.80) or one that’s a little squatter (.75). Examining the photo and deciding what’s most important to include (i.e., more width or more height) should help you make that decision. And, the shorter edge is going to be your “limiting factor.” Here’s what I mean:

This is a photo of my painting Soliloquy.
It had been rejected by my printers because I needed to clean up the edges.
    
Plus, it’s not perfectly square.
It’s 1781px wide and 1800px high. Before I clean up the edges, I need to figure out how to make it square (1:1). Ideally, it should be 1800 x 1800 px, but I simply don’t have the width—
I lost 19 pixels somewhere, probably because I tilted the camera a bit when I took the photo.
  
So that’s an important thing to keep in mind: the shorter side is always going to limit the final crop size. In this case, my final photo has to be a maximum of 1781 x 1781. I will set my crop size to that and dither about trying to include all the important bits.

Let’s go back to the imaginary photo you have that’s 2000 x 2560 pixels. Dividing the smaller number by the larger gives you .78. What if you want your image to have an aspect ratio of .75? You’d simply take the pixels of the longer side (to maximize the finished size of your photo) and multiply it times .75. In this case, .75 x 2560 = 1920. So your adjusted photo size would be 1920 x 2560.

If you wanted to go to a .80 (8/10) aspect ratio, you’re now INCREASING the height relative to the width, but you’re limited by your shortest side, 2000 pixels. So you’d have to solve the equation of 2000/x = 8/10. Remember basic algebra? Cross multiply 2000 by 10 (=20,000) and then divide by 8 = 2500. So you’d set your crop limits at 2000px  x  2500px.

Again, doing this sounds like a real challenge, but in the long run, you will save yourself (and your customer) cash if you/they don’t have to pay for custom framing.

p.s. You can also use the chart above for vertical paintings—just turn it on its side.
pps. If you'd like a copy of the diagram above, just email me at [email protected] and ask me to email you a .jpg or .gif of the diagram and I'd be happy to send it to you. Also, if you like my blog, I'd sure love to have you Subscribe--just click the link at the top right corner of this screen. Thanks!

Hold It Right There! Use pot lid racks to store your paintings.

    If you’re like me, you start out as an artist wondering how you’ll ever fill an entire blank canvas. Once you’re over that hurdle, the next question soon becomes: How do I store all my paintings safely? How do I keep them separated, so the frame of one doesn't poke through the canvas of its neighbor?

     As a glass artist, I used dish and lid racks to hold my smaller glass pieces. But paintings pose a slightly different challenge: Most dish racks are too small for most canvases. I was afraid that a canvas might lean against a wire divider and get marred or stretched out. For a while, that problem could be solved with large pieces of cardboard to protect the paintings, but as my canvases got larger, I had to come up with a different means of storage.

    One day, as I browsed the housewares aisles in a local store, the idea hit me: Why not try mounting a pot lid rack on the wall and use it to hold up my paintings? I figured out what I needed:

            a. A pot lid rack whose wire dividers were completely vertical, instead of at an angle. Here's a photo of what I mean:

            b. The wires of the rack had to be rigid and sturdy, but most of all smooth and non-tarnishing so  they wouldn’t harm the  canvases. I found that chrome ones fit the bill. Wires coated with soft rubber work well, too. The photo below shows what I found. You can probably find something similar with a bit of searching:


         c. the spaces in between the wire dividers had to be wider than my deepest canvas.  I found one with 2-inch gaps, shown at right:

Then, how to hang it? My helpful hardware guy led me around the store until I found what I needed:

          d. “C” clamps (in plastic) that would anchor the pot lid rack to the wall (The ones I got are made by Rubbermaid). You'll need a minimum of  5-6 clamps per rack. Make sure that your clamps are big enough to hold the wire of your racks.
          e.  3/4" wood screws that would fit through the holes in the C clamps (2 screws per clamp).
          f.  a vacuum to clean up plaster or wood shavings and dust from drilling.

A long-handled screwdriver, a good level, a motorized drill with a proper bit, a pencil and a strip of tape rounded out the equipment I needed. A helper would be very useful.  Below is a photo of what the C Clamps (item d.) and the wood screws (item e) look like:

First, I  suggest you measure the space you have available and purchase enough racks to fill that space. (If you have the room, leave a 2” gap between each rack as you mount it. This provides a free space to store another painting).

Take a rack and hold it with the top facing you and the bottom pressed against the wall.  Pick a height that will hold the size paintings you want to store—It has to fall just beneath the top of your shortest painting, and be somewhere in the top half of your largest painting. If you have a wide range of sizes and enough wall space, you could mount some racks lower to hold small to medium pieces, then mount a group higher to hold large ones. The general idea is to have the rack mounted near or slightly above the top third of the painting. Have a pencil available and move the rack around until you have it where you want it, then make a mark on the wall even with the horizontal wire that’s resting against the wall.

Cut a long strip of masking tape and press it lightly across the wall along that line you drew.  Rest your level along the top edge of the tape and make sure the entire length of tape is level. Then press the tape firmly so it will stick.

Take your first rack, hold it against the wall even with the top edge of the tape, and place a C clamp over the horizontal wire approximately midway in the gap between two wires. Using your pencil, draw a dot right through the holes in the plastic of the C clamp where the screws should go.  Repeat this so that you have dots for where a minimum of three clamps can go on the top, (you'll add a minimum of two more on the bottom later). Double-check to make sure your line of dots is level. Remove the tape, place the rack down and get your drill.  Here's a photo of how the clamps fit on the rack, which should help you understand and follow the directions below: Drill holes where you’ve made your dots. Remember that you’ll need two holes for every clamp. Your first goal is to screw in just the top screw for each of the three clamps running across your rack's top edge. (The screws on the inside of the rack are harder to reach, hence the usefulness of a long-handle screwdriver, and a helper.)

Take a plastic clamp, put a screw through JUST the top hole per clamp. Don't drill them all the way in yet.
Turn the clamps sideways for just a minute. You'll want to rest the rack against the wall just under the clamps.
Then you can gently lift the bottom of the clamp and swing it over the wire of the rack. (see the photo at right):
Pick up a second screw for each clamp and with your long-handle screw driver, screw it about 2/3 of the way in.
Repeat for the other top two clamps. Now your rack should hang by itself from the wall.

Once your rack is hanging from your top three clamps, adjust it so the wire dividers are straight up and down by holding your level against it as shown in the photo at left.

Then repeat the process of marking holes for the clamps you’ll mount along the bottom wire. You can swing the rack up and out of the way, which will make it easier for you to drill the holes (having a second person helping would be great). Attach the bottom clamps like you did the top ones, then shift and tweak the entire rack so that all the wires are perfectly vertical. Press the rack against the wall to keep it from moving, and finish tightening all the screws.

If you’re mounting more than one rack and have the wall space, leave a 2” gap between racks which is a “free” space where you can store one more painting.

When your racks are secured, finish by vacuuming the walls and surrounding area to keep the drill dust from attaching itself to your paintings. Voila! A no-muss, affordable way to keep your paintings stored safely.

Keep scrolling down to see photos of three mounted racks before and after I added the paintings:

 

ONE LAST NOTE: This design is meant for light use. If you're planning to cram in as many paintings as possible that will be moved often, I suggest either mounting the racks on wood (or wood supports behind walls), or to use longer screws with "jackets" that will anchor them more sturdily in plaster walls.

 

Why I keep my camera on a leash.

OK, I admit it, I'm a klutz. I remember transferring to a new school in 1st grade. The teacher stood me in front of the class and asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. “A Ballerina,” I answered. She took one look at my bandaided, scabbed knees, (from rollerskating on sidewalks) and burst into laughter. That was my first humiliation. Since then, I’ve tripped, stumbled, tumbled down stairs, even fallen off my shoes (while standing still). When I worked for Chicago architect Harry Weese, I happened to be walking through the atrium where the president of the company was speaking with a client. Just as I got near them, my foot caught on something and I tripped, barely saving myself. My boss calmly gestured to me and said to the client, “And this is Grace….”

So it’s no surprise that I broke my favorite studio camera by knocking it (accidentally) off its tripod. Technically, it was a freak accident, but the camera hit the concrete floor and never recovered. So now I have an older camera that serves as my studio camera. It’s my workhorse, and I keep it on a tripod so as to take the best, clearest pictures—much better than hand-held.

To ensure that I would never accidentally destroy this camera, I made a 6-7-ft leash for it and attached the leash to a hook I drilled into the ceiling. I actually have three of these setups, one for each room of my studio. The end of the leash (strong cords knotted together) has a lobster clasp that I can easily hook to the carrying strap of the camera while it sits on its tripod. At the other end, the ceiling hook is one of those plant hangar hooks that people in the ‘70s used to hang macramé plant slings or lamps on chains (I know I’m dating myself here, but really, how much more humiliated can I get?) This way, I can paint, take photos, and go back to painting without worrying about knocking over the tripod again—the leash will keep it upright.

If you are a truly graceful person and never have accidents in the studio, I applaud you. But there’s another reason why I use an older camera rather than my fancy, beautiful cell phone: I often want to take pictures quick, before the paint dries, which results in my getting paint all over the camera even though I try to wipe off my hands.

Also, I take occasional videos as I’m working, primarily when I’m trying out a new brush or tool. I set it up to shoot either over my shoulder when I work on a horizontal surface, or at an angle to an upright canvas where I dart in and paint. It’s fantastic to have a record of a beautiful sweep of paint, or exactly what a certain shape palette knife does. Thing is, my hands are usually covered with paint just as I want to hit the “stop recording” button. I would never want to risk damaging my cell phone that way.

This is not to say that I never use the cell phone to take pictures in my studio. When I get to a point in my work that I want to take a photo to send to a friend or post online, I’ll clean up, then grab my cell phone to take a “public portrait.” That’s much easier to send than an image on my camera. I often fold the studio camera down and rest the cell phone atop it and the tripod, to steady my hand.

One last suggestion: If you’ve been working on a piece and are really pleased with it, consider taking BOTH a photo and a video, especially while the paint is not fully dried. Start recording with a shot of the entire piece, then move in and film a “closeup tour” around the painting. End with backing up for a second full shot. It doesn’t need to be long, perhaps not more than a minute, but you’ll love having the result in your archives. (You might have to work sans tripod for this).

And there’s one situation where I never use photos from either this camera or my cell phone—when it’s time to take the official photos of my paintings. That’s when you should either use a professional-grade camera and lighting, or hire a professional.

Stay safe in the studio.

Make your camera your personal assistant!

If you think you’re alone in your studio, you shouldn’t be. Right at hand you have your trusty cell phone (or camera), and you can put it to work in a huge variety of ways:

*Every time you put your brushes down, reach for your camera and take a picture to mark your progress. These photos are worth their weight in gold because you can use them on social media to share your artistic progress with your audience.

Other things you can photograph on the way:
                1) The tubes of paint (labels visible) you’re using to mix a new color.
                2) What each layer of underpainting looks like, before you apply the next one.
                3) What effects you get with a new brush, palette knife, or other tool (Be sure to take a  second photo holding that tool up against the painting for the camera to see).
The camera’s eye sees things differently. Take advantage of this:

*If you’re a jeweler, a collage artist, or someone who builds assemblages of components, you can take photos of each experimental assemblage before you move the pieces around. Then you can scroll through the photos, compare them, and see what composition jumps out at you.

*If you’re an abstract painter struggling to see which side should be up, take a photo, turn the painting, and take another until you’re done. Then look at the camera’s images…Usually you’ll see something a little different in the photos (vs. the naked eye) that might help you decide.

*Whenever you're experimenting or testing new materials or tools, stop and take pictures, whether or not the results are successful. And if you like a certain outcome, draw a big star next to it before you snap your camera, so that it will stand out whenever your peruse your photo library. 
Here's a shot of a test that I did using different lusters mixed with clear acrylic paint:

*Most important, even though you might just be starting out as an artist, NEVER sell or give away any piece that you haven't already photographed with good, even lighting and an uncluttered background. Those photos might someday be your entry into art galleries or contests. At the very least, they will comprise your professional portfolio and remind you of how much you've accomplished!