# Photoshop Tip #2 - Cropping



## Sylvanite (Mar 9, 2011)

While it's generally a good idea to compose a photo in the viewfinder, there are times you wind up with extraneous area around your subject.  Here is an example.



This photo has a couple of big problems.  First of all, the pen is primarily vertical in orientation (which is called "portrait"), but the picture is wider horizontally (called "landscape" format).  This wastes a lot of space and makes the pen look relatively small.  Second, the background is not uniform.  The missing sections of backdrop distract from the pen.  The solution is to crop the image.

Click on "Image->Crop", or click on the "Crop Tool".


Now we need to choose the "aspect ratio".  This is just ratio of the width to the height, not the actual size of the image.  One can choose a common value from the Aspect Ratio drop-down box, enter a custom ratio, or select no restriction at all.  If, for some reason, you want your final image to have specific dimensions, (such as 400 by 600 pixels), set the ratio accordingly.  This is useful for getting photos to line up on a web page, print the right size on photo paper, of if you simply like round numbers.  In this case, I've chosen a width to heigh ratio of 4:6.


Drag the mouse pointer from one corner of the desired crop to the opposite corner.  The crop area will be highlighted.  Don't worry if it doesn't come out exactly right.  You can adjust the corners or the center by dragging them.

When you are satisfied with the results, click the green checkmark at the bottom of the crop area. 


That's it!  The extra area is gone.  Only the subject remains.  It occupies the entire frame and is in the correct orientation.  Overall, it is a much better composed photo.

I hope that helps,
Eric


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## ctubbs (Mar 9, 2011)

Good job Eric, short, concise and correct.  Thanks for another great tutorial on PhotoShop.
Charles


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## Dave_M (Mar 9, 2011)

Thanks Eric. Keep'em coming. 

Dave


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## asyler (Mar 10, 2011)

yep.. thanks easy and simple to understand,,


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## toolcrazy (Mar 12, 2011)

Great tutorial.

You may want to note, though, that you are using Photoshop Elements.


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## LarryDNJR (Mar 12, 2011)

Your pen looks distorted, you should use the Skew, Distort and Perspective functions to fix it. 

lol kidding, nice little tutorial it should help some people.


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## IPD_Mrs (Mar 12, 2011)

Great Tutorial, I really hope someone is moving these over to the Library for later searching and use!


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## Sylvanite (Mar 12, 2011)

toolcrazy said:


> You may want to note, though, that you are using Photoshop Elements.


Yes, I'm using Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.  The same functionality is also available in other versions of Elements, CS, the Gimp, and other photo editors.  The exact steps may be different but the concept is the same.

Regards,
Eric


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