Well, Crop it!

Should you crop your photos? It depends. If you are a photojournalist then you should not crop your photos. Photojournalists generally do not make any adjustments to their photos because their clients (newspapers, local news tv etc) require that the photos be untouched for authentic reporting purposes.

If you are not a photojournalist then CROP the photo if it is needed. I attempt to get everything correct in camera because when you crop you lose image quality. This cannot always be accomplished so when cropping is necessary I crop. When you are not taking a photojournalist approach the end result is the most important part of the process. If you photographed a crooked image then straighten it with the crop tool. If you see some weird person stupidly standing in the frame and you can crop them out then crop them out. While you are processing and you can use the crop tool to tighten down the image to really bring out the rule of thirds then crop…

The small example I have here is of a cat.  I took the photo and it stands as is with two exceptions. The location of the cats head within the frame and the distracting white wall and assorted stuff on the right side of the photo...  However, when I crop it down and remove any distracting objects or areas of the frame it has a stronger feel.  The head of the cat is now in the third nodal point of the rule of thirds.  Remember, the rule of thirds can be power but think of it more as a guideline than a hard fast rule.

First and foremost get it as right as you possible can in camera but always remember… You are an artist so use the tools that are available to make the best possible image for you and for your clients.