Aspect ratio is the ratio of length to width of a given image. That is the ratio between the two dimensions of an image. The main importance of aspect ratio is that an image of a given aspect ratio will look different on a medium of different aspect ratio. These images should illustrate this :

16:9

4:3

The above two images are of 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios respectively, clearly the amount of the scene shown in the two images are different. The second has little more sky than the first and the first is wider than the second. Basically there are two important points at which aspect ratio becomes important, one when printing and two when the image is to be used on a display device. In the first case the aspect ratio can be chosen to an extent most printing service have a wide range of aspect ratios they can print in. The factor to consider here is how the image looks in different ratios. The image can look completely different from one aspect ratio to another.

When coming to display devices there is less choice as we have to stick to a largely standard format. This means that the image can get cropped or the image might become distorted. The image may also be re sized maintaining the current ratio, in which case there can be black areas on the display.

The aspect ratio is very important in video also, as a wide screen ratio (16:9) gives something similar towards a cinematic experience. There is a clear and evident migration towards wide screen ratios in video. However the world of still photography still get to choose their aspect ratio, as  majority of the works are being printed and printing lets one choose the desired aspect ratio.

Next time you print your photo graph do be careful when selecting the aspect ratio as that can make or kill a picture.

Never choose an aspect ratio on the camera as that is like reducing the possibilities one has to work with. The best option is to change the aspect ratio at editing phase and not at the shooting phase. Shoot at the default aspect ratio and then change to the required ratio later.

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