Task 3 How to Crop an Image

Cropping an image involves cutting an image down to a specific square or rectangular section, excluding all other unwanted areas. You may want to crop an image to fit it to a specific dimension or to enhance the composition. Sometimes cropping involves trimming away a little detail around the edges. At other times, you may isolate a small component of an image and discard everything else. Cropping an image does not change the resolution or image quality; it only shrinks the canvas size as unwanted areas are eliminated.

1. Open the Image

   Choose File, Open and select the desired image file.

   

2. Select the Crop Tool

   Select the Crop tool from the toolbox.

   

3. Define the Crop Area

   Click and drag the Crop tool over the image to specify the area to be cropped. A dotted line appears, showing what has been selected; if Shield Cropped Area is selected in the Options bar, the area outside the crop area is covered with a mask color. If the selection is wrong, click the x button in the Options bar to deselect and then drag again to specify the area. Everything outside the dotted rectangular area will not appear in the finished image area.

   

4. Modify the Crop Area

   Notice that the crop area has handles at the corners and on the sides. To modify the crop area by extending a side, drag a side handle. To extend the crop area from two adjoining sides, drag a corner handle. To move the entire crop area, click inside the selected crop area and drag the box to a new position.

   

5. Rotate the Crop Area

   You can even rotate the crop area. To do this, position the cursor outside of a corner handle until it changes to a rotate icon. Click and drag to rotate the crop box.

   

6. Crop the Image

   When the rotated crop selection is where you want it, double-click in the selection to crop the image, or click the check mark button in the Options bar. The image window is resized to display the new image with some blank canvas around it. The additional canvas represents the amount needed to "square off" the canvas area. If no rotation has been done, the crop will square off as previewed.

   

How-To Hints

Crop Perspective

To create an angled, perspectival crop effect, check the Perspective box in the Options bar for the Crop tool. As you move the cursor into the image area, it changes to an arrow icon, indicating that the perspective option is active. You can then click and drag each crop handle independently. As you can guess, this option also lets you create crops that aren't rectangular, whether or not the crops create accurate perspective.