Sometimes even the most perfect photos don't start that way. An image can contain an unwanted space, object or person inside. The space or object isn't necessarily bad, but it can hurt the focus of your photo. After all, photos are memories of good times – why should you let an unwanted photo-bomber ruin it?
In such cases, image cropping tools can recover an otherwise beautiful image marred by unsightly background objects. Cropping images to recover viewer focus is an essential tool in your editing arsenal, and there are a variety of ways to do this, including tools like GIMP.
This article will walk you through the process of cropping images using GIMP and outlines the steps to crop your images in different ways, from resizing to cropping irregular image shapes.
Where is the crop tool?
Like most image-editing apps, GIMP's crop tool is found in the app's toolbox. If you want to crop your image using GIMP, you can find the crop tool by following the steps below:
- Open the GIMP app.
- Locate the "toolbox". It should be displayed on the right or left side of the screen.
- Find the "Paper Knife" icon to crop your image.
If you find the icons less intuitive, you can also locate the crop tool by another method as shown below:
- Click "Tools" in the image window.
- Select "Transform Tools".
- Locate the "Crop" button.
How to crop an image
If you took a stunning image, but an object in the background interrupts the focus of your photo, cropping it is an option to save your photo.
Here are the steps needed to start using GIMP:
- Launch GIMP on your desktop computer.
- Click "Tools" in the image window.
- Select "Transform Tools" from the drop-down list.
- Click the "Crop" button. This button activates the cursor to outline the crop area on the image.
- Press the left mouse button and draw over the image you want to crop.
- A new dialog box will appear.
- Select "Fixed" for a specific aspect ratio.
- Adjust the "Position", which determines the tilt of the image.
- Double-click inside the rectangle.
Crop, prop, and drop your Instagram stories or Facebook post feed using GIMP cropping tools.
Remember that as you click and drag your image in different areas, the cursor changes. This is perfectly normal and simply signifies when and where the application will change the dimensions of the image. You can check dimensions and ratios by dragging the image through the dialog box.
Alternatively, you can set custom aspect ratios in step 7, including 1:1 for squares and 6:9 for landscapes. In most cases, you'll probably keep your "fixed" aspect ratio to match the original image. However, it's a great option if you need to crop images for avatars, profile pictures, and blogs.
How to crop an image to a specific size
Sometimes you need your image to be cropped to a specific size. Resizing may not be possible with simple cropping tools. However, GIMP makes it easy to resize images to a specific size – any size.
Here's how to start:
- Launch GIMP on your desktop.
- Click on "File".
- Go to "Open" and select the image you want to crop.
- Select "Picture".
- Choose “Scale image”. A new window will open.
- Under "Image Size", insert the desired "Width" and "Height".
- Enter the desired "resolution".
- Click on “Scale”.
You can turn simple landscapes into Facebook cover images or simple portraits into Instagram posts using GIMP scaling tools.
How to Crop an Irregular Image Shape in GIMP
If you are looking to cut out unique or irregular picture shapes to represent your creativity and artistic skills, GIMP offers a fantastic tool for cutting out irregular picture shapes. To get started, all you need to do is:
- Open the image you want to crop.
- Go to "Toolbox".
- Click on “Paths”.
- Draw freely around the image you want to cut.
- Press Enter. »
- Go to “Menu” and click on “Edit”.
- Select "Copy" and go to "Menu" again.
- Select "Edit".
- Choose "Paste As" and paste the selection as "New Image".
You can start adding irregular shapes to your art portfolio and amp up your Instagram page with surreal art shapes.
Crop to make your images stand out
Cropping your image allows you to keep the viewer in focus. It removes unnecessary objects and details that would otherwise divide the viewer's attention. You can also scale and resize your image to fit special sizes. Resizing is very useful when you need to turn a square image into a landscape image. Overall, GIMP is a simple graphic editing tool that can make your image pop and crop.
How often do you crop the images? Are you cutting out irregular shapes using a crop function? Let us know in the comment section below.
