Photo Shop 7

i recently uploaded a pic on a site .. And i was called a fraud because i cropped the image I dont count cropping as a cheat/fraud.
Its not like im over laying to make the image better,or putting the image on a fake/false back ground.
your views on cropping pics please

IMHO cropping is perfectly acceptable.

I would say that it depends upon the intended use of the image, and whether said cropping significantly changes the viewer's perception of the scene. In an "artistic" image, cropping is perfectly acceptable. In a "news" image cropping must be done so that any portion of the original image that is cropped out does not alter the meaning of the image. Take for example an image of Governor signing a bill into law. Gathered around the Governor at the signing are a Republican and a Democrat that co-sponsored the bill. If you were to crop the image so that, in addition to the Governor, only the Republican remains, the perception of the event has been altered.

Cropping is universally accepted part of creating a photos composition and is done by amateurs, advanced amateurs and professionals. This includes commercial photographers, photojournalist, and news organizations. I worked freelance for a news paper for some years and I can't remember any time that one of my photos was not cropped. I think the difference here is the intent of the cropping. If it is done not for photographic creativity but to intentionally deceive or miss lead then it's wrong. Besides the 2x3 camera format sucks.

I have to agree with the above posts.