Although this post has nothing really to do with this, last night I was a guest at the 2023 Calabrese of the Year Gala Award Dinner at Park Hyatt in Melbourne, an event hosted by the Australian Calabrese Cultural Association to honor a notable Calabrese. When leaving this function, the Local Guide in me had me take the above shown cover photo of the hotel venue. You will see that my photo is in landscape orientation which is not only my preference for photos but also shows the beautiful garden setting along the main entrance of the hotel and especially the pathway leading up to the main entrance.
While taking the shot of the Hotel, I couldn’t help but notice the nearby, beautifully lit up and stunningly looking St Patrick’s Cathedral. I just had to walk over and take some shots. It was this that brought to my mind an interesting discussion on Connect, a day or two previously started by @tony_b , here and involving a number of fellow Local Guides, namely @Rednewt74 , @TerryPG , @MattGatlin and myself. I recalled that during this discussion I mentioned that my preference is to always take photos in 16:9 landscape orientation and in his reply, @MattGatlin mentioned that he also preferred a 16:9 aspect landscape orientation.
However, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t take my Cathedral shot in landscape. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work and this was the situation I was faced with while standing in front of St Patrick’s Cathedral and no doubt, @jayasimha78 faced this same issue when taking his amazing photo of the clock tower at the University of California Riverside, in southern California which you can see here. No matter how far back I went, to capture the magnificence of the Cathedral I just had to take it in portrait. Below is my shot of St Patrick’s Cathedral. What do you think?
My preference always Landscape foto @AdamGT because my thought is landscape picture attract full attention to viewers. I shared one of my landscape foto screenshot in Google maps review.
Both of the photos are beautiful. And taken, in my opinion, in the best orientation for each subject. To choose to only use one or the other (portrait / landscape) means that at times you will not get the best framing and composition for your subject. And sometimes it is in between. Take a long storefront. You shoot it in landscape, but realize that including the entire facade won’t give the store’s sign enough emphasis,so you crop it down to more of a 4:3 ratio.
Here is how your nice photo got grossly decapitated twice on Android. The entrance and the tip of the spires were left outside the frame. Our only option to prevent this is in my opinion to always shoot in landscape orientation and make sure all the important parts are in the center square part of the image. This will make sure only less important parts on the sides get cropped out.
While in Japan, I did resort to portrait orientation when shooting two super narrow storefronts. The sidewalk and traffic did not allow me to get the preferred landscape shots. Here is one such example:
It’s really interesting that you say you prefer portrait and just don’t like landscape @Annaelisa . It will be interesting to see how the vote count proceeds when others jump in and indicate their preference.
Yes indeed @Rednewt74 , the resulting image is what matters and hence why even though my stated preference is 16:9 landscape, for the very reasons you’ve mentioned, I shot and added the photo of St Patrick’s Cathedral to Maps in portrait. Thank you for liking the photos
It seems that you, like me, are in the majority with regards to the preference of landscape over portrait @MortenCopenhagen and I couldn’t agree with you more about Google’s annoying auto-cropping of images, I mean fancy decapitating St Patrick’s Cathedral But as you say, had I shot this in my preferred landscape orientation I could have avoided this or at least most of it but in this case, I would have had to have been a long way back away from the Cathedral and this would have totally changed the peripheral look that I wanted to get.
Yes, as in your example of shooting two super narrow storefronts, sometimes the surroundings don’t allow you to shoot in landscape. I had this very problem with the below photo of Louis Vuitton taken on the same night I took the St Patrick’s Cathedral photo.
I still prefer landscape photos and still have trouble wrapping my head around taking videos in portrait but I am getting there. Have to agree the few churches I have posted are normally in portrait and a couple of large office complexes as well.
Congrats on two very good photos @AdamGT . I suppose taller buildings like that type of church really need to be in portrait orientation.
I’m not a photographer and don’t have a preference. I somehow found myself on Local Guides Connect, and then on the Top100 program. The direction given was to shoot in landscape, so I’ve been doing that ever since.
Both photos look fantastic. You made the right choice. I usually prefer either portrait or landscape based on the subject. I prefer portrait for tall building structure like cathedral or temple and prefer landscape for store fronts and gardens.
Love your photos @AdamGT particularly the Cathedral
Like @PrasadVR I choose portrait or landscape based on the subject matter. I know for maps the preference is landscape but that just doesn’t work for every photo regardless of how hard you try!
@AdamGT I definitely prefer landscape orientation as a general rule, but I agree that there will be times when subjects are better captured in a more vertical, portrait-type orientation.
I’d say that about 95% of my images and about 99% of my videos are in landscape orientation.
On occasion, I feel that a panoramic shot is warranted, and sometimes even a vertical pano is what might best capture the subject, for example:
@AdamGT I love how you captured the Park Hyatt in landscape mode, showcasing that stunning garden entrance. The choice between landscape or portrait for Google Maps often depends on what you’re capturing. Landscape orientation is fantastic for showcasing broader views, wide spaces, and expansive scenes, making it perfect for landmarks, outdoor spaces, and cityscapes. On the other hand, portrait orientation works wonders for tall structures, intricate details, and vertical subjects like towers, monuments, or statues. Both orientations have their strengths, so it’s about picking the one that best highlights the beauty and essence of the place you’re capturing!
For me I prefer landscape there’s something about capturing the vastness of a scene that feels so immersive. You get to showcase not just one point of interest, but the entire panorama, giving people a real feel for the place. Landscape shots beautifully encompass the grandeur of landmarks, the expanse of parks, and the essence of a city. Plus, it’s fantastic for those stunning, wide-open spaces where you want to show every detail, every bit of the view.
When someone checks out a location on Google Maps, I want them to feel like they’re right there, soaking in the whole atmosphere, and landscape shots do just that. It’s about giving that full, encompassing view to anyone virtually exploring the area.
In my “early” days (we are only talking about 2 years of local guide career) I used portrait all the time, as it was the natural way of pulling a mobile from a top pocket and grabbing a quick snap.
After spending much time in this forum and especially reading @MortenCopenhagen fantastic series of storefront photo analysis, I started to swap to landscape only.
In the last months and with the rise of video popularity on Google Maps, I find myself having to swap back and forth between landscape and portrait with more and more preference to portraits.
So my thumb rule, is “whatever the algorithm likes today”.
For videos I believe portrait works great or better when the aim is pleasing the AI and hence getting more views.
I still believe landscape is best for still photos, but I very much agree that we need to constantly be on the lookout for changes in the photo selection AI’s preferences. But we also need to factor in how important it is for us to avoid getting our images destroyed by auto-crop.
First, both photos are excellent @AdamGT but that cathedral shot is a star, whether Google acknowledges so or not!
My photo gallery is probably 85% - 90% landscape, but I truly believe the choice is situational. Maps seems to prefer a landscape photo, as it frames best in mobile search thumbnails. The majority of a human’s visual perception comes from a horizontal view, so I think landscape just feels more natural and attractive to the eye.
Caption: @mikeinthefalls photo of Cascade Falls in portrait mode
Occasionally there are objects that just can’t be photographed as well in landscape mode, especially on a mobile. These photos are not as visually appealing as I’d have liked, but the water level was low and the lighting wasn’t working with me at that time of day. Still the difference in details between the two is obvious. The portrait mode allows you to see a fully framed waterfall and gives a feeling of space and place.
If I’m shooting photos for Maps, it’s most always landscape. Videos have proven to be a different beast and I’m still tracking what works best, if anything does. Lol
I can feel what you said, I too prefer taking 16:9 photos. With respect to the cathedral I would have tried to take it in Landscape Panorama mode. Starting from the top gradually slide to bottom, to see the output.
But as you say, had I shot this in my preferred landscape orientation I could have avoided this or at least most of it but in this case, I would have had to have been a long way back away from the Cathedral and this would have totally changed the peripheral look that I wanted to get.
