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What is the most popular aspect ratio 16:9 or 4:3


4 years 1 month ago #679124 by TGonzo
Which aspect ratio are you using most of the time?  If you alter that, what for?
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4 years 1 month ago - 4 years 1 month ago #679129 by Nikon Shooter
I work a lot for the publishing industry and they like
to do what they want. To get together, I keep the ar-
bitrary for horizontal frames but I give them 2x3 or
4x5 for vertical crops.
Light is free… capturing it is not!
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4 years 1 month ago #679164 by garyrhook
Not sure why "popular" would be relevant in any way.

What matters (arguably) is
  • your aesthetics
  • what the image wants
  • usage
Then there's what the camera produces. SLR/DSLRs produce 3:2 images; micro 4/3 produce 4:3 images. And so on. Many folks leave that alone.

That said, 16:9 for an image is generally not used. That's almost 2:1, which is fairly uncommon. Except for screen backgrounds.
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4 years 1 month ago #679179 by TGonzo
Thanks for commenting, I was just reading about aspect ratios and curious what others are using.  
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4 years 1 month ago #679387 by Tim Giertz
I never play with the aspect ratio. Hell, my camera is set up just like default.  
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4 years 1 month ago #679396 by garyrhook

TGonzo wrote: Thanks for commenting, I was just reading about aspect ratios and curious what others are using.  


Understood. My 2nd bullet, above, is the point that matters for those that are not averse to cropping. At least in the discussions I've been involved in on this subject.
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4 years 1 month ago #679400 by clippingphotoexperts
The two most common aspect ratios are 4:3, also known as 1.33:1 or fullscreen, and 16:9, also known as 1.78:1 or widescreen. (Larger aspect ratio formats are used in the motion picture industry.) All the older TV's and computer monitors you grew up with had the squarish 4:3 shape-- 33 percent wider than it was high
The following user(s) said Thank You: simexseo
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4 years 4 weeks ago #680337 by Steve Zahra
This is so important above all else: "what the image wants"

Good tip Gary
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4 years 4 weeks ago #680338 by Piechura
16:9 and 4:3 are mainly video aspect ratios. 3:2 is more common for photography.

What is common in all of them is that they are determined by technology. People say it depends on the image, but in most cases, people let the technology dictate. 4:5 is extremely popular now because Instagram uses it, for example. Although for Instagram stories, you switch back to 16:9. Print in anything other than 3:2 and you might have to buy a specially-made frame, so most people don't bother, because it's easier to go to Ikea.
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4 years 3 weeks ago #680363 by garyrhook

Piechura wrote: 16:9 and 4:3 are mainly video aspect ratios. 3:2 is more common for photography.

What is common in all of them is that they are determined by technology. People say it depends on the image, but in most cases, people let the technology dictate. 4:5 is extremely popular now because Instagram uses it, for example. Although for Instagram stories, you switch back to 16:9. Print in anything other than 3:2 and you might have to buy a specially-made frame, so most people don't bother, because it's easier to go to Ikea.


I think we have a some young folks here, with no knowledge of ancient history.

Fact: a 3x2 aspect ratio for prints is historically rare. Even though 35mm cameras (film) is 3x2, prints have, for a very long time, been typically

3.5x5 (as best I can recall from my youth)
5x7
8x10
9x13
11x14

4x6 got added along the way, but that was only about 30-odd years ago, IIRC.

16x9 is relatively recent, and applies to video. Not prints. As stated above.

Please, go to Hobby Lobby and look for frames with a 3x2 aspect ratio. You'll have trouble finding a variety of sizes. Everything except 3x2 is readily available.

Finally, IG has contraints based on orientation. It's not possible to post a 3x2 portrait without it getting cropped. Go ahead, try it.
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4 years 3 weeks ago #680413 by Ozzie_Traveller
G'day all

Gary - you are quite correct with your listing of formats - and some from 100 years ago

I was using 4" x 5" sheet film back in the 1960s - and it's where the 8" x 10" and 16" x 20" print formats came from.

With Oscar Barnack devising the Leica 35mm camera back in the 1920s, it started the 2:3 format that continued through all 35mm film and gave us the 4" x 6" prints of the 60s thru to the 90s. This morphs into the 20" x 30" poster prints we see on many lounge room walls

Other formats - 4:3 and 16:9 are modern formats coming from computer screens and TV screens

Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/
Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/
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