How To Crop In Photoshop To A Specific Size

Recently while I was conducting a Photoshop seminar tour, I realized that a lot of people were tripping up with the simple crop tool. It's non that people don't know how to ingather an image, it's that they don't know how to do information technology an get the results they are looking for. The difficulty it seemed was cropping an prototype to the verbal size needed for print or multimedia output.

In this tutorial, I'm going to show yous a some tricks with the crop tool, show you how to automatically crop to the exact size y'all need without math and so provide a few practical cropping tips in Photoshop. It'south pretty much a Photoshop crop tool primer.

7 Cropping Tips in Photoshop

Cropping can be washed for 2 reasons:

1. To modify the physical size or attribute ratio of the canvas for print, multimedia utilize etc.

2. To change the composition of the image: To focus on a portion of the photo, while removing distractions. Digital zoom; This is exactly what digital zoom on your camera does, and why I recommend turning information technology off. You tin can do a better job in Photoshop.

Crop to exact dimensions and size with the Photoshop Crop Tool

In Photoshop CC, the crop tool was changed to offer more options (Don't worry CS6- users, this tutorial is however for yous). When this first happened, it acquired some confusion. Let's set up that right now. (Y'all can also go back to the old way of using the crop tool by choosing the Legacy choice in the pick bar).

Step 1.

Choose the crop tool from the toolbar, or printing the C key.

You will see the crop boundaries, which can exist selected and dragged. (Belongings down Shift volition constrain the shape)

crop01 — © Photo by Colin Smith | PhotoshopCAFE.com

Step 2.

In the tool options bar at the meridian, change the option to W x H 10 Resolution. (Width, Tiptop Resolution).

Stride 3.

You tin can now type in your desired aspect ratio, or size. I have typed in 8 in x 10 in. I added the "in" to force the scale to inches. Y'all could also employ the " inches symbol.

If you don't enter anything in the resolution field, it volition just set an aspect ratio without any resolution (final size). This is where people get messed upwardly. Shape, but non size.

For resolution, enter the desired last resolution. For print, it'southward usually 300ppi (DPI printed). For online, 72 is common. Also 180 or 360 works well for Epson printers.

Now, when you change the crop area, it stays locked at the eight×ten aspect ratio: 8 (in) x 10 (in). It doesn't affair what size you make the cropped expanse, it will e'er exist 8 x10 (or any y'all entered into the boxes).

Pace 4

Press the Enter Key (or the checkmark in the toolbar) to apply the crop.

Notice that information technology is exactly 8×10 inches. That'south considering of the resolution setting.

If you alter the crop area and apply it, information technology will still end up at 8in by 10in at 300ppi

Fifty-fifty when you ingather in really tight, information technology will still exist the aforementioned final size.

As you can encounter, this is really useful for preparing files without having to recall too much or do math.

Xtra Credit

Making a Ingather Preset

Let's save these settings every bit a preset, then that we don't accept to enter it every fourth dimension.

In the drib down, choose, New Crop Preset

Photoshop will name it for you, or you can add your own name if yous prefer.

When you open up the drop down menu from the options bar, the preset volition always be available at the bottom of the menu for one-click awarding.

Irresolute the Orientation of the crop tool

Notice that our cropping has all been in portrait orientation so far. If y'all want to modify it to landscape, just printing the double arrow tool which will flip the settings.

They can likewise be entered in the boxes differently, remembering that the outset number will ever be the width and the 2d the height.

Clearing the Crop tool

If you want to go back to freeform cropping (Unconstrained) click the clear button and it volition remove all the settings for you.

Non Subversive Cropping

When you lot employ the crop tool, past default it deletes the areas that accept been cropped. Even so, if y'all turn off the choice that says "Delete Cropped Pixels" Photoshop will create a new layer and change the size of the canvas to hibernate the pixels without removing them, then you can readjust the paradigm afterwards.

Rule of Thirds and compositional guides (Overlays)

When you are cropping for composition, there are some tools to aid y'all visualize your crops in Photoshop. You volition see six different options that will show unlike overlays when the crop tool is in utilize. You tin tap the "o" key to wheel through these.

Golden Screw shown here

Here is the rule of thirds, this is the virtually common type of composition assistance.

When shooting and processing information technology's pleasing to the middle to take of import portions of the image fall on these tertiary lines rather than just slap everything in the middle.

Of import details tin can even fall on the intersection point of the horizontal and vertical lines.

Even more things you can practice.

Some other thing virtually the ingather tool, it isn't just for cropping into an epitome. You can actually drag the ingather tool outside the image expanse into the canvas to overstate the canvass area.

Believe it or not, there are even more than things that the ingather tool tin can do. If you want to learn more and go this (and more) in depth with all the tools in Photoshop, you should checkout out flagship training, Photoshop For Digital Photographers (We have versions from Photoshop CS all the way to the latest version of CC).

CS6 Superguide

All the CS6 data and more is bachelor equally a PDF magazine called the CS6 Superguide. If y'all're on our list, you will receive it free by electronic mail every bit soon every bit it's bachelor. If not, sign upward at present and get the CS6 Superguide for free. Or click the image below.