How to Crop an Image in Photoshop
The Crop tool takes three moves, but its options bar decides whether you get the pixel size you expected and whether the crop can be undone later.
To crop an image in Photoshop, select the Crop tool in the toolbar, drag the corner or edge handles to frame the part you want to keep, then press Enter on Windows or Return on a Mac, or select Done. Those are Adobe's own steps. If you don't have Photoshop, Crop Image does the same job in your browser, and the image is never uploaded.
How to crop an image in Photoshop
These steps follow Adobe's help page Crop photos:
- Select the Crop tool from the toolbar. Crop borders appear around the image.
- Drag the corner or edge handles to resize the crop area, or drag across the image to draw a new crop box.
- Press Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS), or select Done.
Before you commit, you can still reposition it. Drag from inside the box to move it. To rotate it, hover just outside a corner until a curved arrow appears, then drag.
Crop to a set ratio or an exact pixel size
The aspect ratio menu in the Crop tool's options bar decides the shape. Adobe's Crop tool options page lists what each setting does:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ratio | Free crop, no fixed shape |
| Original Ratio | Keeps the photo's own shape |
| 1 : 1 (Square), 4 : 5 (8 : 10), 5 : 7, 2 : 3 (4 : 6), 16 : 9 | Locks the box to that shape |
| W x H x Resolution | Crops to a width, height and resolution you type |
| New Crop Preset | Saves a size you use often |
For an exact pixel size, choose W x H x Resolution and type the unit with each number, such as 1200 px. Adobe's Effects of Crop tool on image dimensions says a number typed without a unit is read as inches, so a width typed as 1200 with no unit means 1200 inches, not 1200 pixels. Open the Info panel while you draw to see the pixel size of the box.
One thing to check: these fields set the output size, not just the shape. In Adobe's own example, a 400 x 400 pixel image cropped to 2 x 2 inches at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) comes out 600 x 600 pixels, more than it started with. Photoshop has to create the extra pixels, and they add no real detail. If the crop box covers fewer pixels than the size you typed, the result is scaled up.
Keep the crop editable: Delete Cropped Pixels
The options bar also has a Delete Cropped Pixels checkbox. Adobe says it permanently removes the areas outside the crop, and that leaving it off keeps the crop editable. Leave it off while you are still deciding on the framing. Turn it on when you want the trimmed areas gone for good.
Straighten a tilted photo while you crop
A crooked horizon is fixed with the same tool. From Adobe's Straighten tilted photos:
- Select the Crop tool.
- Select the Straighten tool in the options bar, then drag a line along an edge that should be level, such as the horizon.
- Adjust the crop boundary with the corner or edge handles.
- Select Done, or press Enter (Windows) or Return (macOS).
How to crop an image without Photoshop
For a quick crop, opening Photoshop is more than the job needs. Crop Image runs in your browser:
- Drop in one image or several, up to 50 at a time.
- Pick a shape from "Aspect ratio": Free, Square (1:1), Standard (4:3), Widescreen (16:9) or Photo (3:2).
- Drag the box and its handles, or type exact pixel values into the X, Y, W and H fields.
- Run the crop and download. Several files come back in one zip.
The crop is cut from the full-size original, not the preview, and nothing is resampled, so the W and H you set on the image are the pixel size you get back. A JPG comes back as a JPG and a WebP as a WebP, re-saved at high quality; other formats come back as PNG, with -cropped added to the name. It doesn't open Photoshop's .psd files, so save a JPG or PNG copy first if that is where your image lives. In a batch, the box from the first image is applied to every file in the same proportions, which suits photos that are all the same shape.
After the crop
Cropping throws pixels away, so crop first and resize second. How to crop a photo without wrecking it covers what to cut and which ratio to pick, and Resize Image sets the final pixel size once the frame is right. On a Mac without Photoshop, see cropping an image on a Mac with Preview or Photos.
FAQ
Why did my Photoshop crop come out the wrong size?
Check whether W x H x Resolution read your numbers as inches, which is what happens when you type them without a unit. Type px after each value, or set the Ratio option for a free crop with no fixed output size.
How do I crop to a square in Photoshop?
Pick 1 : 1 (Square) from the ratio menu in the options bar. Without Photoshop, Crop to Square locks to 1:1, and the square crop guide covers framing.
Can I change a crop after I've applied it?
Leave Delete Cropped Pixels off and, according to Adobe, the crop stays editable. With it on, the outside areas are removed permanently, so work on a copy if you might re-crop.
What ratio should I use?
Whatever the destination expects. What aspect ratio means explains the common ones, and resizing for print covers print sizes such as 4 x 6.