Many people think the Crop tool is one of Photoshop’s more mundane, ordinary tools, but don’t be fooled! You’ll be surprised at what you can do when you unlock it’s full potential. So here are five tips to help you get the most out of the Crop tool.

Many people think the Crop tool has one function—to crop. Although this is a useful function, the Crop tool can do much more. We thought outside the Crop tool’s bounding box and compiled the tips that are sure to expand the ways you use the Crop tool, make using the tool easier, and enable you to work more efficiently.

Note: An alternative to cropping an image using the Crop tool is to create a selection, then choose Image > Crop.

1. Change perspective

Besides allowing the Crop tool’s bounding box to rotate, scale, and move around, Photoshop has a unique ability to crop with perspective. This feature is useful for straightening crooked images and fixing keystoning (we’ll explain later) and other distortions in images. To see how it works, let’s take a look at a couple of our slightly skewed examples.

Square up horizon lines
Our example in Figure A is an image of the Toronto skyline where the horizon line is slightly higher on the right side than the left side. Here’s how to fix it using the Crop tool’s perspective adjustment feature.

Figure A:

Crop tool tidbit: The Crop tool may not correct keystoning on all images and/or may not fix perspective distortion if it’s applied to an image that was already cropped for size.

To fix the perspective in an image using the Crop tool:
1. Choose the Crop tool and drag a marquee over the image area you want to keep.
2. Release the mouse and the tool options bar changes.
3. Select the Perspective check box.
4. Move the four points of the crop selection independently.
5. Press [enter] to commit to the crop selection.

In Figure B, we selected the top-left corner and slightly moved it down vertically and moved the lower-right corner up vertically. This gives us what appears to be a crooked selection. As soon as you double-click on the crop selection, the Crop command stretches and changes the image to get it to fit the area. You can see our squared-up results in Figure C.

Figure B:

Figure C:

Straighten buildings
A common problem when taking images of buildings is keystoning, where the lines of perspective converge as you photograph a building. This is illustrated in Figure D. The only way to capture a completely straight shot of a building is to be directly centered and parallel to it. However, you can also correct this problem after the fact using the Crop tool’s perspective option. When cropping the image, pull the top handles inward to make the crop boundaries parallel to the building, as shown in Figure E. Once straightened and color corrected, our building looks much more regal, as shown in Figure F.

Figure D:

Figure E:

Figure F:

2. Crop the canvas, not the image

If you find yourself wanting to change the cropped area long after you’ve cropped your image, it’s not too late. The Crop tool has a feature that allows you to choose what happens to the cropped data if that data exists on a layer.

To avoid permanently deleting the cropped out area:
1. Display the Layers panel by choosing Window > Layers.
2. Duplicate the Background layer by dragging it onto the Create A New Layer button at the base of the Layers panel.
3. Use the Crop tool to crop the image to your liking.
4. Go to the tool options bar and select Hide.

Crop tool tidbit: If the Perspective option is selected in the tool options bar, deselect it. Otherwise, you won’t be able to choose the Hide option.
Note: If you’re trying to crop an image that only has a Background, then the remaining data will just be deleted.

If you’re sure about the canvas size of your image, but not sure about how you want to frame the image, then the Hide option is a good choice. In Figure G, you can see our Crop tool and the shielded area. Once we crop the canvas, we can then move our image around freely using the Move tool and get just the framing we want before flattening the image. Moving the image around in the cropped area gives you different options for what is displayed in the crop frame, as shown in Figure H. This method works the same as if you’re pasting a larger image onto a smaller canvas.

Figure G:

Figure H:

Crop tool tidbit: Have you ever tried to crop an image very close to a document’s boundaries and discovered that the Crop tool was snapping to the edge? This is because the Snap To Document Bounds option is selected. To deselect the option, choose View > Snap To > Document Bounds.

3. Customize the crop area size

Maybe you need to crop your image to a specific size. No problem! Here’s how to do it.

To set the Crop tool to a specific size:
1. Click the Crop tool.
2. Type a Width and Height for your finished design in the tool options bar.

Crop tool tidbit: To crop the image without resampling (default), make sure the Resolution text box in the tool options bar is empty.

1. Click and drag out the crop marquee, and then press [enter].

Photoshop maintains the proportions you typed in for the Width and Height.

4. Make it a preset

If you have a batch of images that need to be cropped to a specific size, make the specific dimensions of the intended cropped areas into a preset. That way, you don’t have to repeatedly type the same size over and over again.

To make a Crop tool preset:
1. Select the Crop tool and type values into the tool options bar.

Crop tool tidbit: You can click the Clear button to quickly clear all text boxes in the tool options bar.

1. Click the Tool Preset Picker from the tool options bar
2. Select the New Tool Preset icon from the right side of the Tool Preset Picker menu.
3. Name your tool in the New Tool Preset dialog box and click OK.

Your custom cropping tool is added to the menu, as shown in Figure I. Now, whenever you want to use the Crop tool, you can select the tool preset, and you’ll never have to enter those same settings for it again!

Figure I:

5. Crop from the get-go

Although you can crop an image at any time, many people like to crop at the end of the image editing process. This may be a good idea for final adjustments to an image, but it’s not recommended for images that will have a large cropped area. In most cases, the best time to crop is when you open the image. Here’s why:

Crop out any distractions. If your image has elements that distract from the subject, they will also distract from your work in Photoshop. Get rid of them so you have a clutter-free canvas to work with.

Eliminate bad influences. Cropping takes out elements in the image that can influence adjustments. A really light or dark element, such as the bright sky in the Figure J, can throw off Photoshop’s interpretation of brightness and contrast, so if you don’t want it in the composition, get rid of it before it influences any adjustments.

Remove excess data. Photoshop uses lots of RAM; the larger the image is, the more RAM it needs. If the image is reduced by cropping, it can significantly decrease the amount of RAM used, especially when working with multiple layers.

Figure J: