Cropping images
Cropping simply refers to removing unwanted parts of an image. It can also be used to create an image of a specific size or proportion. There are two ways to crop an image in Photoshop Elements. One is the crop tool, the other is the marquee tool. The icons for these tools look like this:
Crop Tool
Marquee tool
Take a look at the shot on the right of the Mackinac Bridge in Northern Michigan. It's decent, but it could be better. If we were editing for print, we'd want to crop it to a standard proportion, an 8x10, 11x14, or maybe a 4x10 panoramic.
For now, let's pretend we're editing the image for a client's Web site. The client needs a panoramic image 150x300. Follow along below to see the best way to meet the client's needs.
Method 1: Crop tool
The crop tool works best when you don't need a specific size or proportion. Here's what you need to do:
1. Click the crop tool to select it.
2. Click on the upper left hand corner of the area you wish to keep.
3. While holding the mouse button, drag toward the bottom right of the image.The screen should now look like the image at the right. Note the dashed line that 'marches' around the highlighted area. This is the area we'll retain when we crop our image.
4. To crop the image, double-click inside the highlighted area.
The problem with our image is that it may not be of the correct proportions. Remember we need a final image that's 150x300.
Follow along below as we try it again using the marquee tool instead...
Method 2: Marquee tool
1. Select the marquee tool.
2. Next, change the mode to "Fixed Aspect Ratio", and change the proportions to 150x300 like this:
3. Now, click at the top left of the area you wish to keep and drag to the bottom right. If you don't get exactly what you want, you can select the area inside the dashed lines and use the arrows or the mouse to adjust the area. Your screen should look like the image at the right.
4. Finally, click Image>Crop from the main toolbar as shown.
Now we have an image in the correct proportions! (Don't worry about actual size yet, we'll get to that in our optimizing and exporting for the Web tutorial.)
Next, check out our tutorial on adjusting brightness and contrast.
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