Are you working on a project where you need to insert images in your presentation or slide or document? Also, images are not in a suitable ratio to insert it in the document? You know, you need to crop the image but do not know how to crop an image to a specific size. Cropping an image is not a hard job, you can easily do it with a few clicks. Let’s give a deep dive into the below details in cropping an image to perfect size.

What is Image Cropping?

Image Cropping is a process by which you can remove unwanted areas from your photograph or illustrated image. The process usually uses to improve image framing, to remove extra items to trash, to re-correct the aspect ratio, or to highlight or segregate the image subject matter from its photographs background. You can do this process on a physical photograph, artwork or any video graph. Even, you can use digital software to achieve this process more accurately. Cropping an image is very familiar to photographic, film processing, broadcasting, graphic design, and printing industry.

The Rule of Thirds

You will wonder when you will learn, the most interesting or eye-catching photos don’t have the main subject in the center of the image. There is a rule of photography is, Image Subject Should not be in the Center. But you may think, where does it go then? Thus, the Rule of Third came.

The Rule of Third divides an image into nine equal individual boxes. Three Horizontal and Three Vertical boxes are separated by grid lines. The basic concept is that you want to place the subject near the spots where grid lines lie to each other.

Did you ever question yourself, why the camera view of your phone has grid lines? The Rule of thirds is the reason behind this. Gridlines are there to help you to compose your image. The concept is that, when you are taking a snapshot, you would use the grid lines to assure that your image uses the rule of thirds.

While Cropping an image, you can follow the Rule of Third to have an eye-catching selfie.

Dimensions and Ratio

Before we start, we need to know about a few basic knowledge. Firstly, aspect ratio. Aspect Ratio is the ratio of the width to the height of an image or screen or the space required for an image. The aspect ratio is always written in order like 2:1, 4:3 and so on.

Now, what do you mean by the 2:1 aspect ratio? It means a 2:1 aspect ratio is two times wide as it is tall. Also, you might have learned about slide deck background which has a ratio of 16:9. This ratio refers to the background ratio of your image. Your image will not get stretched when you place it into the slide with the mentioned ratio.

Remember, the Aspect Ratio and Actual Dimension are two different things. Dimensions can be described in pixels, inches, centimeters, and other measures of length. And if you are in a project with content meant for screens, it is perfect to measure everything in pixels.

Finally, let’s say you have an image which has 1920 pixels in width by 1080 pixels in and you need to crop it to fit a 2:1 space: you could simply leave the width unbroken, and crop the height down to precisely half, at 960 pixels.

Do not make your head hot with this math, the above examples are to let you understand the basics so that whenever you are going to crop an image, you just need to understand either the exact dimensions for the crop you need or the aspect ratio. Your editing apps or tools are also there to help you to do the work done perfectly.

How to crop an image to a specific size in paint?

Microsoft Paint is a simple Graphic Editor that is built-in with Windows Operating System. For basic image cropping, this software is perfect and easy to use.

Let’s say you want to CROP a screenshot

1.         Firstly, open an image in Paint. Right-click on the image, select Open with > Paint

2.         Choose Select option from the toolbar.

3.         To select the portion, you are looking to keep, Click and drag on the image

4.         Click on the “CROP” option from the toolbar.

Then the image will be Cropped as per your requirement.

This option is very easy and simple as you find out above. To crop a screenshot, you can go with this option without trying Photoshop while Photoshop is bulkier and complexity is high for a beginner.

Crop an Image in ImgPro

ImgPro is an online photo editor site to edit your photo in several options. A lot of options are available in ImgPro to provide you a perfect image to share in Social Media. Follow the below steps to have a tremendous journey with ImgPro

1.         Go to https://imgpro.co/

2.         From Right Side Top, select Get Started.

3.         You need to upload your selected image. To do so, click on the “Open Photo” option and upload your photo.

4.         Now choose “CROP” from the top.

5.         Now, you can change the Width and Height manually. Also, the ratio is available to Crop the image. Even if you do not want to go with the selective ratio, manually you can Crop an image holding and dragging the cursor until you’ve got the size you need.

6.         Finally, click on the “APPLY” button

7.         You can save the image in your device by selecting the “SAVE” option from the left side top.

Editing photos in ImgPro is fun. ImgPro is very simple to use so anyone could use it. You do not need to pay anything to use it.

How to Crop an Image Using Tools?

Number of Apps are available at Online to give you the answer to how do I crop an image to a specific size? Let’s start with

Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the most impressive software to Crop an image. No software can give you efficient work like Photoshop if you are familiar with it. Hence, I am going to help you to crop an image in Adobe Photoshop. Simply, follow the below steps to achieve it.

1.         Open your photo in Photoshop.

2.         Go to the Palette and choose the Rectangular Marquee tool. For a Shortcut, you can simply press button “M”.

3.         Now, at the top of this tool, check out for a drop-down menu that is named “Style”. If you know the expected aspect ratio of the image which you are looking for, then choose Fixed Ratio or Fixed Size (whatever you want). Simply out the values of Width and Height in the specified fields alongside the menu.

Note: Check out the Unit of the measurement if it is not fulfilling your requirements. To specify this, go to Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers and set them to whatever units you’d like to work with.

4.         Now left click on the image, create a selection by holding and dragging the cursor until you’ve got the size you need.

Click only once if it is a Fixed-size style and drag it around to frame the portion of the image you want to use.

5.         Go to the Main option “Menu” Bar which is located at the top of your device screen and click Image > Crop and your image will be cropped to the selection you did.

6.         Now save the image in your device expected location.

GIMP

GIMP is a very popular image editing platform. You can do a lot more fun with it on your image.

1.         Open your selected image in GIMP.

2.         Either shoot shortcut Key “R” on the keyboard or select the Rectangular Select tool from the palette.

3.         You will find an option named ‘Fixed” at the bottom of the box. The different options are available which are aspect ratio, dimensions, width, or height and you have to specify the option that you are looking for.

4.         Now, enter your expected dimensions or aspect ratio in the “Fixed” option.

5.         It is time to make the selection and to do so, you need to click on the image. Drag your cursor until you get the image cropped to the right ratio.

6.         You can also have your selection expand outwards from a point on the image, to have that point at the center of your final image.

To achieve this, find out the option named “Expand from Center” above the “Fixed” option in the Toolbox. Then, make your selection by clicking on the point you want to be centered.

7.         You are near to finish your working, from the Menu bar, click Image > Click.

8.         Save the image at your device.

You are all done with GIMP apps to Crop your image.

Croppola

Do you want to use your cropped image as a Facebook cover photo? Croppola has a specified aspect ratio to help you to make an impressive cover photo for your Facebook profile. It is a Simple and flexible online cropping tool. Let’s begin

1.         Write croppola.com in your browser and upload your desired photo.

2.         Go to the Toolbar at the right side of your image, select preset crop or ratio to have the aspect ratio at the labeled field. To begin your selection, click anywhere on the image.

3.         Do you want the size as per your requirement? Then put the width and height of your required image, and then click inside the selection box to move it around until you have got the accurate percentage of the image selected.

4.         If your image is misaligned, you will find a button at the bottom of the toolbar and your image will be aligned perfectly.

5.         Finally, if everything goes OK, click ‘Download this crop’ option to save your image to your desktop or device.

Benefits of Cropping an Image

Image cropping is a decisive step in photo editing. Every photo editing apps have a Crop option to trim the edge or permanently eliminate the unwanted edges. Hence, all images do not require cropping but cropping increases the visual impact and composition of any images expressively. Usually, images are being cropped to magnify the focused subject of an image or to change the angle of a view when a camera lens is not able to get the required magnification.

1.         Increases Overall Composition: Composing is an art, to increase an image beauty, the composition of it is required. Even, if you follow the rule of thirds, your image will become more dynamic than before.

It is advisable that, when you are cropping an image, follow the rule of thirds. Your cropped image will be more outstanding, electrifying and interesting.

2.         More Focused on Subject: Sometimes your image will become more beautiful when you magnify the subject. A cropped image enlarges the subject inside that improves the focus of the image and letting you concentrate on the subject more.

Yet, there is some camera that has a built-in magnification option that makes the subject swell and thus produces an excellent image.

3.         Abolish Visual Information: Often, too much information distracts an image from its beauty. Because of this, the subject does not get attention and the image became dull to look at.

You can easily get the attention by removing the unwanted visual information and give a focus to the main subject. Also, improper alignment and avoidance of unnecessary subjects interfering objects into the frame holds your attention to the main subject.

4.         Reframing the Image: Reframing an image will give you different benefits.

•           Your image will be more focused.

•           Take away empty spaces from any side of the image.

Even, it works within the milieu since several portions are deliberately left free and void. An image becomes more expressive and helps to draw attention, provided you crop a photo perfectly.

5.         Change Image Orientation: Do you want to rotate your image to 90-degree to the left or right, or just mirror it for a reversed view? Cropping helps to change the image rotation easily.

When you crop a photo, it doesn’t seem convenient to eliminate certain portion which you want to clip away. In that case, why don’t you do your picture orientation? That’s why you need to re-orientate a vertically framed image that emphasizes a stimulating mood into a horizontally framed picture for steadiness and tranquility.

6.         Crop in Different Aspect Ratio: To make an image compatible with the devices or using platforms, changing the aspect ratio is really important. The reason for changing the aspect ratio is imperative due to the relationship between the width of the subject’s screen and the space around it. Modern digital cameras come with camera sensors, which determines the dimension of the aspect ratio of an image. So, it is important to crop an image by changing the ratio.

While you are cropping an image, always keep the original file separate. Make a copy first from the original and work in the copied image. There might be a chance of making a mistake like you worked on the original and save it unintentionally and lost the raw file. So, be aware of this.

Tips and Tricks of Cropping an Image

Cropping an image is not like only crop it and save it. You might miss some important objects which was supposed to make the image more eye-catching or can add a story. Making the perfect crop in your image can give an extreme impact on the visuals and can even control the way the audience engages with it passionately. Let’s find out a few tips and tricks to follow while cropping an image

1. Add a Story: They say, a picture can tell thousands of words. Using a cropping tool can add those words to your image to tell a story. You need to think about the story which you are going to express to the audience until you do not get that story, you cannot start cropping an image. While cropping, make sure your story is expressed perfectly to the audience. Be careful while cutting as cutting any important object might change the story. All the important things have to be there in the image. Take full advantage of cropping an image, not the disadvantage.

2. Take Away Unnecessary Details: It is similarly important to take out unnecessary details from an image that might distract the audience to understand the image story. You must not give a chance to the audience to make fun of your photograph, so crop the unusual things from images that might take focus away from the subject. Keep a close eye on the edges, usually, photographers do not pay attention to the furthest edges of an image. People’s eyes are naturally drawn to faces in photographs. But our eyes are also drawn to text, especially if we can read an entire word or sentence. If anything is there in the image to take away the audience’s eyes from the subject, that should be censored.

3. Do not Always Keep Your Subject Center: You should not think always to keep your subject centered in the image. Always remember The Rules of Third and apply that one when you are cropping an image. Also, make sure to keep your subject in an area where it is going to draw to the most attention.

4. Crop at Eye Level: In a portrait photo, you can keep your subject in centered and crop at eye level. Here also you need to remind yourself The Rules of Third. Ensure that the subject is centered at eye level (one third down the canvas, or the top horizontal line on a rule of thirds grid). This kind of cropping will give you the feeling of eye contact, that engages and compels the audience.

5. Keep Some Breathing Room, While Cropping a face: Do not let the audience feel claustrophobic (an extreme or irrational fear of confined places), cropping an image to its subject face to close will give this feeling. Consider the edge of your image as wall and when you are standing right against a wall, you will not get any space to breathe and your anxiety will rise. The audience will also feel the same if you crop your image too close to the edge. Yet, you may think this as a handy emotional effect but when the subject is moved back and kept some breathing space, the image will become much more relaxed and pleasing to eyes.

6. Do not Cut off Body Parts: Do not cut off body parts illogically. Your bad decisions on cutting body parts will make you a character of Horror movies. There is a rule of Thumbs which is, “while cropping an image, do not cut off the limbs at the joints.” It will give an awkward look to your image. Your image will become a meme without gaining popularity. Even you should not cut little appendages such as fingers, ears, even toes. Crop the subject body to the torso, waist, thighs, chin or upper arm to make the image less awkward.

7. Do Not Give a Bad Haircut to the Subject: It is the same as point # 6. You have to play the role of a stylist and make sure your subject’s hair is not getting cut off. Otherwise, your subject will seem like a bald. Do not crop too close to the subject’s hairline, keep enough space and let the audience imagine the rest. Additionally, you can cut further down away from the hairline, focusing on the subject’s face instead.

8. Crop to Avoid any Kinds of Cosmetic Problem: Surely, you want your subject to be looked at its best. So, do not feel hesitate to crop if any cosmetics problem is there. The crop tool may not be the most advanced in your photo repair toolkit—you are probably not going to be able to use it to eliminate a mark from someone’s face. But it gets the job done when it comes to the big stuff like removing a mustard stain from a shirt or tucking away an unsightly belly roll.

9. Cropping Consistency Required for a Series of Photograph: The photos you use in a scheme are only going to account for one small part of the overall guarantee, so you need to be aware of how your cuts are going to work in tandem with one another.

When you are going to prepare a series of photographs, make sure to organize those like a yearbook, not a comic book. In a comic book, images tell only one story at a time and are placed in a variety of shapes and positions. But a yearbook tells the story one after another and all images are placed similarly. So, while making a series of photograph images, crop images in a consistent way to give a uniform look.

10. Do not Cut the Horizon: Give noticeable attention to the horizon while you are cropping a landscape. Generally, the best choice is to keep it at either of the two horizontal lines on a rule of thirds grid. Accidently, if you cut off the horizon, the image will not look like a landscape image and it will start to look like an awkwardly cropped photo of whatever the biggest object in the frame happens to be. In a landscape photo, the focal point should be the land itself and that is easiest to do with a horizon line.

11. Tight the Crop, Create the Drama: When you crop-up close of an image, it creates a big drama and shows more details of a person or a subject. Like, the closer you crop a face, the bigger the feature gets and the audience will identify rainbow emotions within the face. Remember to focus on the eyes, it will help you to grab more attention and create that sense of eye contact and intimacy. The same thing happens for an object, it’s one thing to crop a photo to focus on an object, but it’s a wildly different experience when you crop the photo so that the object is the only thing you see. It’s even more dramatic when the photo only focuses on one part of the whole object or is in so tight that the audience can see the finer details.

12. Crop with Different Shape: By using a photo editing tool you can make a landscape photo to portrait or vice versa. Sometimes, changing the size and shape of a photo makes it more beautiful than the original one.

A golden rectangular shape is a good choice or round, heart-shaped, hexagonal and so on, choose the design that suits your image. Also, do not forget to change the shape in the copied image. Otherwise, if you change in the original one and saved it, later when you are going to take any print of that image, you will be unable to do so.

13. Keep a Little off the Top: You may face a problem with an image size sometimes. Due to this, a well-captured photo can go to under scissor to fit into your design layout. You need to follow a good strategy to make in this situation. You can cut off from each side until it gets fit for your design. Just be sure to use baby steps to avoid overcutting. Also, you need to cut only unnecessary things, not hack it to bits.

14. Do Experiments, do not Afraid of it: It is not necessary to stick with rules always, you can go beyond this if necessary. Take some bold decision, play around with the Crop tolls, do experiments before settling to a specific design. You can crop the same photo a dozen different ways and come up with drastically different results. Who knows, you may get a unique photo than your expected one. Try cropping at different angles and rotating the picture to compensate, creating a dynamic composition effect. Crop faces in half to create a sense of mystery. Do not be afraid of getting fail.

15. Crop in-Camera Itself: Do you know what is in-Camera Cropping? Eliminating the need to crop later by doing what we call in-Camera crop. The camera lens itself is the best crop tool. Cropping the image right for the first time can speed up your project design and help you to achieve your goal.

Resizing and cropping tools are following the same rules. Once you have cropped any image, you can only get it to return by reverting to old save files. As said earlier, keep several backups of your original file. Even do not overwrite the original.

Things to Know about the Cropping Tools

There are several important things about cropping tools that you might not know. Below are the things to know

1. In Photoshop, there are several Crop Overlays Guide available. Simply hit “O” which is a shortcut key and get the below overlays

•           Rule of Third

•           Grid

•           Diagonal

•           Triangle

•           Golden Ratio

•           Golden Spiral

2. In Photoshop, you cannot rotate your crop area more than 90 degrees. Press shortcut key “X”.  This will keep the aspect ratio and size of the cropped image the same, only orientation will change from Landscape to Portrait or Portrait to Landscape.

3. To Hide the cropped are, simply shoot shortcut keys “H”. Crop Shield Opacity and Color changing options are available in the options bar.

4, Do you prefer the traditional way of using crop tool? You can go to the classic mode by pressing “P”. While using the Crop Tool in Classic Mode you need to rotate the Crop Rectangle around and the image will fix in one place in the background. On the other hand, in Normal Mode, you will be moving the image around behind the static Crop rectangle.

5. Front Image Using: Do you want to keep the size and resolution the same of two documents? For this, open the reference image. Next, select the crop tool and go to the Options Bar to get the front image or hit shortcut key “I”. Thus, the size and regulation of the reference image will be recorded. Finally, you can change to another document and the crop tool will follow the size and resolution settings referenced from the first image.

6. The procedure of Accepting Crop: You can use any of these techniques to accept your crop:

•           Press Enter

•           Double click in the crop area

•           Click on the Commit Icon in the Options Bar

•           Context Menu > Crop

•           Image Menu > Crop

Image is a very important part to attract visitors. If your image does not tell the right story that you want to express, your website will go down very soon. Follow the above steps, use the cropping tools, get your image cropped perfectly and do less worry.