![]() I will note both older and newer, large format view cameras take 8×10, 5×7, and 4×5 film sheets, indicating some attempt, early on, at applying common sense to standard paper and film sizes. Bottom line: The problem exists today and there is little, which can be done, outside of special order prints and framing, to correct it. So, regardless of how these standards came to be, they more or less grew organically and independently of each other and have simply chosen to tolerate each other, rather than compromise, for more than 100 years now. Reasons I have found include everything from historical paper standards predating still photography, measurements from standard glass plates used in window making, and the Greeks’ Golden Number. However, suffice to say, I do have a nebulous idea. I’ll be honest, following my research, I still do not have a complete grasp on an easy explanation as to how our standard paper sizes have come to be. ![]() On the paper side, the history is much more complex. To delve deeper into the history of 35mm film, you may visit the Wikipedia page here or, once again, the Camerapedia page here. 35mm film (a 35mm wide film strip where image size was set at 24mm by 36mm) would later be adopted as a popular standard in still photography as well, thereby making it the staple size in the consumer film industry. According to the Camerapedia web page, he had taken the existing film size of 70 mm and split it in half to create this now-familiar size. Anyway, in the early 1900s, Thomas Edison patented the use of 35mm film for use in his motion picture machine, the Kinetoscope. Now, I won’t condescend too much, as I know even those born in the digital age should have some idea as to what camera film is. On the photography side, we must step back from the digital era for a moment and look at good, old fashioned film. That is the short explanation, but there is a little more to it than that. Popular, standard film size does not translate 100% into popular, standard paper size. Instead, click here to save yourself some future heartache). Unfortunately, based on society’s standards, this question will come up again and again as long as physical prints are being made ( and I strongly recommend against perpetuating the idea of physical prints being archaic and almost dead. I’m speaking of the often-poignant process of having your portraits printed! ![]() No, I’m not describing a horrific scene orchestrated by some sadistic madman. This decision is painful, hard to watch, and, in the end, you won’t feel good about having chosen either one. This is the lose-lose scenario many of us have had to face or will have to face in our lives. The fingers or the top of the head? One of them has to go and it is up to you to decide which one. Elbows or no elbows? Depends on the crop!
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