How to crop an image in Photoshop

The short answer

Press C, drag the handles, press Enter. That is the crop.

The parts worth learning beyond that are cropping to exact dimensions, straightening, and keeping the pixels you cropped away in case you change your mind. All three take about a minute each.

Cropping to an exact size

Social and web work usually needs a specific pixel size, and there is a right way to get it.

1. Select the Crop tool (C).
2. In the options bar, change the dropdown from Ratio to W x H x Resolution.
3. Type your target, for example 1200 px by 630 px at 72.
4. Drag to choose the area. Photoshop constrains it to your ratio and resamples to your exact size when you apply.

Careful with one thing: if you enlarge a small image this way, Photoshop invents pixels and it looks soft. Cropping down is free; cropping up costs quality.

For ratios without a fixed size, choose Ratio and type something like 16:9 or 1:1.

Straightening

Two ways, both quick:

• Crop tool > Straighten in the options bar, then drag a line along a horizon, a table edge, or anything that should be level. Photoshop rotates and crops for you.
• Ruler tool, drag along the line, then click Straighten Layer in the options bar.

Both leave transparent wedges in the corners after rotating. Tick Content-Aware Fill in the crop options bar and Photoshop fills them, which works well on skies, water and grass, and less well on brickwork and faces. Check what it invented before moving on.

Cropping without losing anything

Untick Delete Cropped Pixels in the options bar before applying.

The cropped area stays in the file, hidden beyond the canvas edge. Crop outward later and it comes back. The file is bigger, and it is almost always the right trade because your first crop is rarely your final one.

If you use a Smart Object, this behavior is the default, which is one more argument for working with Smart Objects generally.

Crop, canvas size and trim

Three neighboring commands that get confused:

• Crop tool: interactive, and can resample.
• Image > Canvas Size: changes the canvas without touching the layers, so it is how you add space around an image rather than remove it.
• Image > Trim: cuts away transparent or single-color borders automatically. Excellent for tidying a logo export.

Composition, since you are cropping anyway

Cropping is a design decision, not a technical one. Three things that reliably improve a crop:

• Turn on the overlay. With the crop active, press O to cycle through rule of thirds, golden ratio and others. Use them as a suggestion rather than a law.
• Leave space in the direction of movement or gaze. A person looking right wants room on the right.
• Do not crop at a joint. Cutting a person off at the wrist, ankle or neck reads as a mistake. Crop mid-limb instead.

The crop is the cheapest improvement available to any photo, and the one people spend the least time on.

Exporting after the crop

File > Export > Export As gives you format, size and quality in one dialog with a preview. JPEG for photos, PNG when you need transparency, WebP for the web when you want both smaller and sharper.

Adobe's Photoshop user guide documents the export options, and the Photoshop product page covers which version has what.

When Photoshop is overkill

For a straight crop of one photo, your operating system's built-in viewer will do it. For a batch of photos, Lightroom is far faster and keeps every crop non-destructive by default. For quick social sizes from a template, Canva is quicker.

Photoshop earns its place when the crop is one step in a bigger edit.

Where to learn the rest

The Photoshop certificate covers the tools in a sensible order, and there is a beginner's guide to the whole program if you are just starting. One subscription opens the whole Graphic Design & Illustration school.

Press C. Consider the composition for ten seconds longer than feels necessary. Press Enter.