Cropping images can help eliminate photography mistakes and make your photos look more balanced. Many photo editing software programs, and even some digital cameras, come with a cropping feature. Some photo printing websites allow you to crop images to standard sizes before they’re printed. You can also crop printed images using the same principles of photography and design.
Instructions
1. Make a copy of the image you want to crop. In photo editing software, you can go to the File menu and choose "Save as." Then type a name for the image copy and click "OK." For printed images, you can make a copy at a copy shop or use a home copier. Even a grayscale copy should show you enough of most images to decide where to crop it.
2. Decide if you want to crop any excess background areas in the image. For example, you may have a photo of people or a mountain with too much sky overhead, causing the main subject of the photo to look too small. Cropping out some of the extra sky could bring the focus of the photograph back on the people or mountain.
3. Decide if you want to crop the image to center the main subject. For example, you may have very little background on one side of the main subject and a lot of background on the other. Cropping can help balance out the photograph.
4. Look at the photograph to determine if there are any distracting objects in the background that would be better cropped out. For example, if you have a photo of two smiling people sitting at a restaurant table, you may want to crop some or all of the table to keep the focus on the people instead of the clutter of plates and food.
5. Crop a digital image by selecting the area you want to keep using the marquee tool, or box with dashed lines, in the photo editing software. Then choose the crop command (for example, in Adobe Photoshop, go to the Image menu and choose "Crop"). Use the undo command to restore the whole image if needed. Save the image when you’re satisfied with the cropping.
6. Try cropping a printed image by covering parts of the picture with blank paper to see what the image would look like when cropped. When you’ve decided how you want to crop the image, draw a straight line or lines on the image using a ruler. Cut along the line or lines using scissors or a paper cutter.
