Picture Fomat 4:3 or 16:9?

[Interceptor121]

I have been shooting pictures for the last years without really considering this however as more and more pictures get viewed on TVs or computer screen is somewhat annoying that the format of the picture does not fit into the screen
My camera does shoot in 16:9 albeit by means of cropping

I am curious to hear from other underwater photographers how they take their shots

 

[GRH]

I can’t think of many images I shoot that aren’t cropped. I frame the image as best I can in camera using maximum resolution, post process if needed, then crop in the size and ratio desired for display. In-camera cropping in my opinion is not as flexible. Unless you want to simply shoot and show, post processing allows you to size appropriately for print and publication in addition to monitor display. I keep two versions of each “keeper” image; a 300pi Adobe RGB (1998) version for print or publication and a 72pi sRGB version for web or PC viewing.

It might not hold true for underwater photography but for I tend to shoot portrait orientation more frequently than landscape and portrait perspective images would have even wider bars on each side when displayed on a 16x9 monitor. You can either frame your image to best showcase your target or choose to always frame in landscape mode and deal with the potential for elements in the image that distract from your primary subject.

As a new diver I am not ready to attempt underwater photography yet and look forward to the day I have the necessary diving experience and buoyancy control to bring my cameras underwater but don’t know why general principles wouldn’t apply.