is it crazy to sit and crop a ton of pictures at once?

[Spinning]

I have a whole box that need to be scrap but also need to weed out pictures that I won't use...So I decided to start cropping and tossing. I really like a square format and occassional ovals so I hope this will make it easier to just sit down and start doing pages...
Anyone else do this?

 

[janette]

Once when I was on vacation visiting relatives I brought my scrapbook stuff & pictures. It was hard to get any real scrapping done but I did get lots of cropping done. Many of the pictures were pretty easy to crop all the excess from and hopefully it will help when I finally get around to doing pages.

 

[grover]

I like to get myself organized before hand as well. I don't crop my photos but I sort them and pick out what I'm going to put together,jot down ideas ect! Grover in Winnipeg

 

[Keli]

Personally I don't think I would do this. Too many times I get ideas about what I want a page to look like as I go along and I think pre-cropping the photos might limit that. I would be afraid that I cut a photo in an oval shape but in order to really bring the page together I need it to be a square or something like that. I think though it might depend on your style of scrapbooking, I could see where it might work well for a friend of mine who usually crops most photos into rectangular shapes and makes the page special in other ways with creative uses of die cuts, stickers, etc.

 

[BevS97]

I don't like to pre-crop them, too many times I've cropped a pic as I've started a page, then changed my mind later and wished I hadn't bothered, especially if it's a circle or an oval.

What I do like to do though is to slip set's of photo's into page protectors, and sometimes the paper I fancy using, so that when I sit down to scrap I don't have to decide which pics to use, I can just get started.

to be honest - I very rarely crop a photo at all anymore, unless there is something that I want to remove, like a misplaced elbow, or a basket of laundry in the background!

Bev

 

[Spinning]

Thanks everyone. The ones I might like as ovals I didn't cut just left the picture whole, just in case the oval wouldn't work. I don't crop a lot of the picture out just the extra stuff that really doesn't belong in a picture like an arm or if someone in the back ground is making an odd face. I really try when I take a picture to center it...
Today is my scrap day, long day for the kids at school so I will see how it worked out!

 

[dizfamily]

I do this all the time! To me, cropping is the more "tedious" job of scrapping and one that doesn't require a lot of brain work on my part. So I like to sit and crop pictures sitting in front of the TV, etc. This also gives me more time to think about what I want to actually do with the page. If you're concerned about cropping a picture into a particular shape and it not working out when you actually put the page together, then just make sure you have duplicates.

 

[DVCajun]

I have to side with those who wouldn't crop in advance. How do you know what size will work on your page once you get it started? Even if you know that part of your picture isn't that great, you can always cover it with vellum, or even with another picture, depending on where you page goes for you.

My pages usually acquire a life of their own once I start them!

 

[Lesley]

I also don't crop in advance....but I'm also one who doesn't crop photos much either. If I have to crop to make a photo fit on a page I will but I don't know that in advance. Using an APS camera makes this more of an issue because of some of the prints being 4x7.

I think most people will notice that the better they get at photography the less they crop....one of the main steps to good photography is filling your frame with your subject. But you still get that occasional basket of laundry, sink full of dirty dishes, or ugly electrical outlet in the background! That's the wonderful thing about cropping!

It does sound like your style may work well for pre-cropping your photos. Why not try it with a pack or two of photos and see if it works for you? If you don't want to cut circles and ovals right away you could use a photo labeling pencil to make a note on the back that you were considering a circle or oval.

And DVCajun....that's the wonderful thing about any creative project, isn't it? They do take on a life of their own.

 

[Spinning]

Many good points. I would never cut a picture just to fit a page. I would either add a page or move things around.
I did it with a set of winter pictures and it worked out great. But I already had a good idea of what I wanted to do. I eft any of the pictures I wasn't sure I wanted to use or if I wanted cut into circles/ovals untouched.
I started precut my Disney pics and couldn't. I couldn't see the lay out in my head...if that makes sense. I will be working those pictures for ever!
So I guess it does truly depend on your style and what you are working on. I am still trying to figure all of this out! LOL the more I do the more I change my mind, ideas likes and dislikes!
Can't wait to see what my books will look like in 20 years!

 

[DVCajun]

Can't wait to see what my books will look like in 20 years!

Probably exactly what they look like now.