Crop Image

Using the Cropper, Step by Step

1. Add a picture. Drop a JPG, PNG, or WebP file on the box, or click it to pick a file. The original size appears under the preview, for example "Original: 4000 × 3000". A crop box is already drawn over the middle 80% of the picture. For that photo it starts at 3200 × 2400.
2. Pick a shape, if you need one. The buttons are Free, 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, and 3:2. A ratio button reshapes the box and keeps that shape while you resize it. Free lets you drag any rectangle.
3. Move and resize the box. Drag inside the box to move it. Drag one of the eight small squares on the corners and edges to resize it. The corner on the other side stays where it is. To draw a new box, press on the dark area outside the box and drag. The label under the box shows the size of the result in real pixels of your photo, not screen pixels.
4. Click "Crop & Download". The file saves with cropped_ in front of the original name, so your original is not replaced. Click "Clear" to start again with another picture.

Common Aspect Ratios and Where They Are Used

The aspect ratio is the shape of the picture: width compared to height. A 1080 × 1350 image is 4:5, because 1080 ÷ 1350 = 4 ÷ 5. Platforms change their layouts sometimes, so check their help pages if an upload looks cut off.

All the ratio buttons except 9:16 make a wide box. For an upright 4:5, 3:4, or 2:3 crop, choose Free and watch the numbers on the label.

Worked Example: One Photo, Four Crops

Take a 4000 × 3000 landscape photo. That is a 4:3 shape with 12 million pixels. Here is the largest crop you can get for each shape:

• 1:1: 3000 × 3000. The full height stays, and 1000 pixels of width are cut away. You keep 9 of the 12 million pixels (75%).
• 16:9: 4000 × 2250. The full width stays, and 750 pixels of height are cut. You keep 75%.
• 4:5: 2400 × 3000. You keep 60%.
• 9:16: about 1688 × 3000. You keep only about 42%. Turning a wide photo into a tall Story always loses more than half of it.

To get the biggest square, click 1:1, then drag the corner squares until the box touches both the top and the bottom of the preview. The label should read close to 3000 × 3000.

Why "close to"? The preview is smaller than your photo. On a desktop screen, this photo is shown at about 667 × 500, because the preview is at most 500 pixels tall. So one screen pixel stands for 6 photo pixels, and the box grows in steps of about 6 pixels. If you need an exact size such as 1080 × 1080, crop to the right shape here, then resize to the exact numbers.

Tips for a Better Crop

• Use the thirds lines. Faint lines split the box into three columns and three rows. Put eyes, a horizon, or the main object near one of these lines. It often looks more natural than dead center.
• Leave some headroom. Keep a small gap above a person's head. If they look to one side, leave more space on that side, so they are not looking straight into the edge.
• Do not cut at joints. An edge that falls exactly on a neck, wrist, elbow, knee, or ankle looks awkward. Cut through the middle of an arm or leg instead.
• Check all four edges. Half a stranger or a bright sign at the edge pulls the eye away. Crop a little tighter.

Crop, Resize, or Compress?

• Crop (this tool) cuts parts away. It changes the framing and the shape. The part you keep has the same detail as the original.
• Resize keeps the whole picture and changes how many pixels it has.
• Compress keeps the same width and height and makes the file smaller by saving it with less detail.

Do them in that order. For example, to turn a 4000 × 3000 photo into an Instagram portrait post: crop it to 4:5 (2400 × 3000), resize it to 1080 × 1350, and compress it only if the file is still too big.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Cropping a small area and then showing it large. A 300 × 300 face cut from a group photo will look blurry as a 1080 × 1080 profile picture. Start from the largest original you have.
• Cropping the same JPG again and again. Each save uses 95% quality. One save is hard to notice, but many rounds add blocky marks. Go back to the original file each time.
• Not checking the label before you download. The label shows the exact size of the file you will get. With a ratio button on, the box keeps its shape even at the edge of the picture. It gets smaller on both sides instead of only one. Because a file has whole pixels, a shape such as 16:9 can be 1 pixel off, for example 3848 × 2165.

What This Tool Does Not Do

• It cannot rotate, flip, or straighten a picture. A tilted horizon stays tilted.
• The result is always a rectangle. There is no circle crop.
• There are no boxes for typing exact pixel positions. You set the crop by dragging.
• It works on one image at a time.
• Hidden photo data, such as GPS location, camera model, and date taken, is not copied into the cropped file. The browser draws the pixels onto a new canvas and saves a new file.
• Formats the browser cannot save, such as GIF, are saved as PNG with a .png ending. For example, logo.gif becomes cropped_logo.png. An animated GIF becomes one still frame.