Crop your image to the ratio you need

Why crop at all

Cropping removes the parts of a picture you do not need. It improves composition by taking out distractions and putting the subject where you want it, and it makes a file lighter because fewer pixels are stored. It is also how you change an image’s shape: a platform that needs a square, a form that needs a portrait, a banner that needs a wide strip. Cropping is safer than stretching, because it keeps the proportions of what remains.

Pick the shape first

Choose the ratio that matches where the picture is going, then drag and resize the frame to place your subject. Ready-made versions are one click away: 1080 × 1080 square, Instagram post, YouTube thumbnail and LinkedIn banner.

Composition tips that take ten seconds

• Use the rule of thirds. Imagine the picture divided into a three-by-three grid and place the subject on a line or an intersection rather than dead centre.
• Leave space in front of a moving subject. A person looking or walking to the right looks better with room on the right.
• Cut out distractions at the edges: a stray object, a bright patch, someone’s elbow.
• Do not crop too tight on faces. Leave breathing room above the head, especially for a circular profile picture, which cuts the corners.

Crop, then resize

Crop to the shape you need before you resize or compress. A crop decides what is in the picture; a resize decides how many pixels describe it. Doing it in that order keeps the most detail for the part you kept. A crop also loses pixels: cropping a 4000 × 3000 photo to a small square leaves far fewer than the original, so start from the largest original you have, particularly for print.

To then bring the file under a limit, see compress to a size, and for the exact pixel dimensions use resize. Your image is processed in your browser and never uploaded.