"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."

1 Corinthians 12:4

When I started out on my photography journey many (many) years ago, I knew I wanted to take a lot of scenic nature pictures. Mountains. Canyons. Trees. Flowers. Birds. Other animals. And so on... As I gathered my portfolio and developed my catalog, I seized every opportunity to grab a shot I thought would be of some use.

As would be my preference, I preferred to take my pictures horizontal, or landscape orientation. But every now and then, it just seemed appropriate, that I should also take pictures vertically. And as I would continue on this journey, I realized that there would actually be even more uses for images of various crop shapes and sizes, especially if I wanted a sweeping landscape or something tall that could be saved as a smartphone wallpaper.

And then on top of that I would market these images to be used on different gift products as I currently do. Having them go on everything from t-shirts to laptop skins to pillows to mugs to acrylic blocks to round buttons to posters to wall art, the shapes and orientation would be very important in getting the image to fit it's use, literally and figuratively.

I've included some examples below of some various images in a variety of orientations I felt were best suited for them. You'll find your own preference and style that works for you, but as you can see when you take your pictures, think outside the box, and think how you want to present your work - especially at the time you take your images. Do you want this vertical like a poster, horizontal like a panorama, or cropped into other shapes and if so, are you giving yourself enough room in there to make those crops later? A bit of careful planning can yield big results later: