How to crop photos in iPhoto
Summary
Cropping allows you to edit a photo by selecting only the portion you like. You can also use cropping to improve a photo's composition. The ratio of width to height in photographic prints is known as the aspect ratio. The aspect ratio is important to know when cropping because when ordering prints or a book, photos must match the required aspect ratio or they may be cropped.
For 35 mm pictures the aspect ratio is 2:3 which will produce photos of 4 x 6 in. If you intend to use the same photo to get multiple size prints, you may need to duplicate the photo and constrain and crop to the specific size prints being ordered.
Warning: Cropping a photo changes its appearance in the photo library and in every album where it appears. To edit a photo without changing it everywhere it appears, make a duplicate to edit.
Products Affected
iPhoto
To crop a photo:
- Select the photo you want to crop.
- Click the Edit button.
- Position the arrow pointer at one corner of the area you want to select, then drag to enclose the desired area. To constrain your selection to a specific size ratio, choose a ratio from the Constrain pop-up menu before dragging to enclose the desired area. If you're ordering larger prints, choose the appropriate size (5 x 7 or 8 x 10) to constrain the image.
- Click the Crop icon in the Edit pane.
If you don't like the changes you've made to a photo, you can revert to its original version by choosing "Revert to Original" from the File menu. You can also undo your most recent change by choosing Undo from the Edit menu.