How to Crop an Image in Photoshop?
Cropping might seem like one of the most basic tools in Photoshop, and many people assume there's nothing much to learn.
But did you know cropping in Photoshop isn't just about resizing your canvas? It's packed with handy tricks to make your photos stand out even more.
Let's dive in and uncover these hidden cropping tips together!
In this article, you will learn:
How to Crop in Photoshop?
To crop a photo in Photoshop, find the Crop Tool in the toolbar on the left side of the interface (shortcut key: C). Once selected, you can drag the edges of the photo to crop it however you like. This is the most basic way to crop.
If the crop doesn't behave the way you want and seems locked to a specific ratio, it's probably due to the crop settings.
By default, the Crop Tool is set to freeform, but you can change it to other ratios in the Crop tool setting bar.
You can pick any preset ratio you like or manually type in a custom ratio in the input fields.
When you select a fixed ratio, the crop will maintain that width-to-height proportion, meaning you can't adjust the width or height independently.
If you want to go back to freeform cropping, simply click the Clear button in the settings to remove any fixed ratio.
You can also use the input boxes next to the ratio options to crop your photo to specific dimensions in pixels.
Instead of adjusting the crop area directly on the photo, you can first create a crop box of a specific size on the image. Then, click inside the crop box and drag the image to reposition it within the frame to decide which part of the photo gets cropped.
The Crop Tool isn't just for cropping — it also has a simple rotate function
It's super easy to use. Move your mouse just outside the crop box, and a rotate icon will appear. Drag in any direction to rotate the image as you like. Most people know how to do this since it's one of the more basic features.
If your photo looks crooked, you can use the Crop tool's rotate function to straighten it. However, manual adjustments can be tricky and might take a while to get just right.
That's why Photoshop Crop Tool has a built-in Straighten feature. Simply click the Straighten button in the settings bar.
Then, find a horizontal line in your photo, like the ground, and draw a straight line along it. Photoshop will automatically straighten the image for you.
The Straighten tool doesn't just work with horizontal lines. If you use a vertical line, like the edge of a building, it can straighten your photo vertically as well.
Sometimes, after you rotate and crop an image, you might see blank corners. Your first thought might be to select those blank areas and use Content-Aware Fill or Generative Fill to fix them, right?
That's definitely a good method, but there's an even easier way.
When using the Crop tool, set the Fill option in the toolbar to Generative Expand (for better results) or Content-Aware Fill.
This way, Photoshop will automatically fill in any missing pixels in the corners as you crop, saving you the extra step.
How to Crop a Single Layer in Photoshop?
When working on a project in Photoshop with multiple layers, you might notice that one layer's image is too large or too long, and you want to crop just that layer.
However, if you try to use the Crop tool, you'll see that it affects the entire project, not just the layer you want to adjust.
So, how can you crop only one layer without impacting the others? Click the link below to see our detailed method!
Further Reading:
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we've shared how to crop images in Photoshop, covering everything from the basics to some hidden tips and tricks.
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