How to Crop in Photoshop CC

Cropping photos in Adobe Photoshop allows you to cut your pictures down to a more favorable size and focus on what matters. Learn how to use the Photoshop crop tools to frame your subject and edit out photobombers.

How to Crop Images in Photoshop With the Crop Tool

The Crop tool offers the quickest way to crop images in Photoshop:

1. Open your image and select the Crop tool from the toolbox. You should see crop boundaries appear around the edge of your image.

   Hover your mouse over each icon to see the name of the tool.

2. Click and drag the handles around the image to create a new crop selection, or click and drag anywhere on the image to draw your selection manually.

   To maintain a 1:1 aspect ratio, hold the Shift key as you adjust the crop window.

3. When you're happy with your selection, press Enter or double-click/tap to crop the image.

   If you are unhappy with the result, press Ctrl+Z (for Windows) or CMD+Z (for Mac) to undo. Press Ctrl(CMD on Mac)+Alt+Z to undo several previous steps.

How to Crop to Specific Dimensions

If you know the exact dimensions you want, you can use the Tool Options bar above workspace to crop your image:

Use Preset Ratios and Resolutions

The first box gives you a number of predefined aspect ratios and resolutions you can choose from. You can even create your own tool presets for Photoshop.

Set Crop Dimensions Manually

In the next three boxes to the right, you can enter numbers for the height, width, and resolution. Select the drop-down box to choose between pixel per inch or pixels per centimeter for the resolution, and select Clear to clear all fields in the Tool Options bar.

How to Straighten a Cropped Photo

To adjust the orientation of the cropped area:

1. With the Crop tool selected, select Straighten in the Tool Options bar.

2. Click and drag to draw a straight line at an angle to the edge of the crop window. When you release the mouse button, the image will rotate.

3. Select Overlay Options (the grid icon to the right) to add photographic rules to the Crop tool, such as the rule of thirds.

How to Transform Perspective While Cropping

The Perspective Crop tool allows you to adjust the perceived angle that the picture was taken from while cropping down the edges of an image.

1. Click and hold on the Crop tool and select Perspective Crop Tool from the list that appears.

2. Click on the image where you want the corners of the crop window to be. Once the box is drawn, drag the edges of the marquee boundary to adjust it If necessary.

3. When you're happy with your selection, press Enter or double-click/tap. The crop and perspective adjustments will then be made automatically.

Other Ways to Crop Images in Photoshop

It's also possible to crop images using Photoshop's Transform function and a new canvas. This method is useful if you want an image to maintain a specific size or aspect ratio.

1. Go to Select > All.

   Alternatively, press Ctrl(CMD on Mac)+A to select the entire image.

2. Go to Edit > Copy.

   Alternatively, press Ctrl(or CMD)+C to copy the selection.

3. Select File > New to open a new canvas.

   You can also create a new document with the Photoshop shortcut Ctrl(or CMD)+N.

4. Enter the dimensions you want for your final cropped image, then select Create.

5. Select Edit > Paste to paste your image into the new canvas.

6. Select the Move tool, then click and drag anywhere on the image to adjust its placement within the canvas.

7. To adjust the size of the image, go to Edit > Free Transform and the drag the handles that appear to make the desired area fit within the canvas.

Once satisfied with your cropped image, you can save it as a PSD file or in your preferred image format.