Plenty of medium format cameras used square shaped areas of film negative and you were meant to adjust the aspect by cropping. Often the viewfinder would provid

Plenty of medium format cameras used square shaped areas of film negative and you were meant to adjust the aspect by cropping. Often the viewfinder would provide guides for both orientations. Calling a more vertical representation ‘portrait mode’ when speaking of stone tablets or bibles is a bit ridiculous. Also ridiculous is the casual hand waving survey of historic mediums and deciding that ‘portrait mode’ reigned large. There are scrolls, frescos, cave paintings, woven works and more that are wider than they are tall. Further, convoluting what is comfortable to look at with full detail for reading versus what replicates the human field of vision is as contrived as the smug reference of anyone who does otherwise as a ‘newbie.’ A portrait mode image is a decision, and it should be a decision made with intent. It is both a technical and artistic choice and if a ‘newbie’ decides to only shoot landscape, they aren’t somehow disappointingly restricted. Also, if you want to landscape the Mona Lisa, you’d do better to add to the width than to chop off the height.