Here is what a high megapixel count actually does to your photographs.
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I had a conversation with a photographer the other day about a photograph he took.
It was a shot with people, one clear dominant group and another group that seemed completely out of place, making the whole image feel unbalanced.
When I asked what the scene was about and why he included the other group, he said he always shoots a bit wider and includes more because it allows him to crop afterwards.
That didn't sit very well with me, and I went on untangling the whole idea in my mind, and this untangling became the video above and this article.
You see.
The only real reason to buy a high megapixel camera is if you actually need the fine detail and resolution that it provides.
What the Marketing Departments Are Really Selling You
I know that you can crop.
That's exactly what camera marketing departments tell you. They push high megapixels so you can feel safe that if you didn't frame well, there is always that ability of cropping.
Fuji, for example, took it a step further, recommending cropping as a way to overcome the limitations of a fixed lens on the GFX100RF.
Here is a quote from Fujifilm regarding the GFX system:
"Explore Aspect Ratios With the GFX System. Find a new view by changing aspect ratios and discover how they can improve your photography."
And in the same article, here is the reasoning underneath it:
"Fortunately, your G Format sensor has such a high resolution to start with that this isn't a problem. So, if you decide to use the 1:1 aspect ratio with the GFX50S or GFX50R, you'll still end up with a big 6192×6192 pixel file."
They even have a whole marketing story published all over on how changing aspect ratios can boost your creativity. Everything is leaning heavily on that high megapixel count.
The truth is that cameras are already very good for the last decade and since then the technological improvements are minor.
Cameras with high megapixels are always great for marketing. Camera manufacturers want you to believe that more megapixels will make you a better photographer.
And Fujifilm is not alone in this story.
- There is Hasselblad.
- There is the Sony a7R VI with its 66.8MP sensor.
- Even the Leica Q3 is with 60MP today.
Almost every high megapixel camera is sold on the promise that you can just click now and figure out what your photo is actually about later.
Well, not in these exact words, but the overall message is:
"Don't worry, we got you, you have the megapixels."
My Problem Is Not the Resolution
Now, I don't have a problem with high resolution itself. Or any resolution in general.
My issue as an educator is that it breeds photographers who rely on sensor specs instead of developing their own compositional skills.
A lot of megapixels in the hands of an experienced photographer, or an artist with a clear idea, can be a miracle making machine.
Look at this photo of Messi and Ronaldo by Annie Leibovitz. It was shot on the GFX series for a Louis Vuitton campaign.
And this is actually a composite. Messi and Ronaldo didn't even sit in the same room. The photographs were photographed separately and joined later.
Now we can argue if that's photography or visual art, but what I try to say here is that the photographer had a clear idea what she is going for. And the megapixels here played a minor part.
The Two Types of Framing
So let's move further.
There are two main framing approaches photographers use. One approach justifies cropping. The other doesn't.
Loose Framing
It's used mostly in reportage, sports, or wedding photography, where you don't have time to compose perfectly.
Because it's often a reactive photography you just have to chase the subject and the moment, you just have no choice, everything moves way too quickly.
So you leave extra space around the main subject as a guarantee, that you can tweak the composition later.
And that is perfectly fine.
Intentional Framing
This is when you consciously frame the exact way you want your photograph to look like, and you do it before hitting the shutter.
It doesn't mean your subject has to be static. It just means you know exactly what you're going after and you execute it as precisely as possible.
The benefit of this type of framing is that it will teach you much more about photography than loosely chasing moments.
Now sometimes we have no choice, we HAVE to frame loose. Just don't make a habit of it.
How to Master Intentional Framing (And Skip the 100MP Camera)
Now let's go deeper.
To become better in photography and faster, you need to master the intentional framing. It will also help you when you need to shoot loosely, you will just be better in it.
To do that you need to cultivate a few core qualities.
1. Learn to See Frame Structure
The first one is that you need to learn to see the compositional elements of the scene in front of you.
You must learn to recognize these compositional elements before you press the shutter. If you can't see the structure of a scene, you can't compose properly. You won't know what belongs in the frame and what needs to be left out.
The precondition to intentional framing is learning to truly see.
You can grab my 30 Day Composition Challenge to work exactly on this. It has 30 exercises that will gradually teach you to see better with every single day.
If you want the full structure rather than the exercises alone, this is what I break down module by module in my online photography composition course.
So the precondition to compose intentionally is to learn to SEE.
2. Focus and Stay in the Moment
The second one is to learn to be in the moment.
It might seem to you that you are focused on the task, but the truth is that most of the time the mind is filled with random thoughts that have very little to do with photography.
So when you are thinking about an argument you had earlier or what type of pizza you are going to eat after the shooting, you are not really focused on what is in front of you. You are kind of there, but not really there.
And then in one moment you snap out of the thought and realize that you are in the middle of a photography session and you start chasing.
So to avoid that chasing, learn to be in the moment. I wrote a short article about meditation and photography that might give you some ideas how to work on that.
3. Learn to Anticipate
The next one is to learn to anticipate.
It's connected to the previous one, but it extends further. If you learn to observe what is in front of you, you will notice reoccurring patterns.
And with time you will learn to see how these patterns develop and the moments build up, which will allow you to be ready with your framing for its climax.
4. Build Speed in Execution and Scene Processing
But so you do not miss that climax you will need to learn to be very fast, which involves 2 things.
The first one is genuinely knowing how to operate your gear as quick as it's possible. If you still freeze and think of your camera settings, thinking that the world will stop until you set your camera and you are ready, you are far behind.
The second thing is to learn to visually process the scene fast. And that again comes to seeing what is in front of you and making quick decisions of what stays in and what goes out.
Intentional framing doesn't mean slow framing. It means fast, decisive framing.
The urge to shoot loose and crop later often comes from panic, and from fear of missing the moment because your visual processing is too slow.
By practicing quick scene analysis, you train your brain to recognize patterns, balance, figure to ground separation, and geometry in a fraction of a second.
That is allowing you to lock on an intentional composition quickly, even with fast moving subjects.
5. Develop Spatial Awareness and Distance Management
Intentional framing heavily relies on moving your body.
You need to instinctively know how your focal length interacts with physical distance to your subject.
You need to be able to calculate your subject's trajectory of movement, and anticipate where you need to intercept them, and evaluate how the background and light interact.
All this makes it one hell of a calculation habit to make. But trust me, it is possible.
The key for this is that you don't shoot from where it's comfortable, that spot when you saw the subject, but rather from the spot where the frame demands you to be.
6. Practice Post Capture Discipline
A key quality of intentional photographers is strict discipline. You need to learn to be self restrained during selection and post processing of your photographs.
Cropping should be treated as a surgical tool to correct minor leveling or do small fixes, not as a rescue mission for a lazy composition.
Deciding ahead of time that you will not alter the fundamental framing in post production forces your brain to take responsibility during the actual shooting process.
When photographers rely on high megapixel counts to fix mistakes later, they tend to shoot loosely and excessively without editing in their mind first.
True discipline comes from cultivating selectivity, the willingness to not press the shutter when the elements in the scene are not ready for it.
High megapixel cameras create a safety net that encourages a lot of sloppy decisions. Developing a higher standard for what deserves a frame forces you to commit to the geometry before you take the shot.
And overall, cropping post facto is often a manifestation of perfectionism and fear of failure. When you shoot with the mindset that "I can always fix this later," you remove the stakes from the process.
Developing personal accountability means owning the frame as you captured it.
If you miss the composition, accept it as a learning point rather than masking it through heavy cropping. This mental shift builds deep creative confidence and accelerates your growth. It is much better for you than a high res sensor.
So, How Many Megapixels Do You Actually Need?
Personally, I shoot with 24MP.
I used a 40MP sensor for several years, and it felt like overkill.
The sweet spot for most working photographers today is around 32MP, which gives you plenty of detail without tempting you to throw away 70% of your frame in post.
High megapixel cameras are not a sin. It's all about how you use them.
Just don't let a marketing narrative slow down your growth as a photographer.
Shoot intentionally, and the progress will follow.
Happy shooting, and see you next time.
Keep Going
If this made sense to you, the natural next step is to train the seeing itself. That is the whole subject of my online photography composition course, where I break down how to read a scene and build a frame on purpose, module by module.
And if you want to start for free, take the 30 Day Composition Challenge and give it thirty sessions.