Cropping question from a beginner....

[Ottor]

I've heard folks say that they "Cropped to a 5x7, or cropped it to a 11x14" ... When I crop a picture in Photoshop, I do it with the intent of framing the picture they way I like to see it............. How the heck do you crop to a 'specific' dimension ??

Will doing it my way present printing problems ?

tks,

[Snowdust]

If you crop the way you want to see it then try to print it to a specific size (5x7,8x10, etc), one of two things will have to happen. Either the picture will have to be stretched or distorted, or if left as is, will not fill the requested size leaving white bars on which ever side can not be filled. I guess a third option is that alot of print programs and commercial labs will automaticlly enlarge the image to fit the requested size, but what does not fit the paper gets cut off so that no white areas appear.

Cropping to a specific size that you intend to print to is the only way to ensure what you see is the way it will print to a given size.

[Ottor]

Gotcha ... makes sense...

Now - If I have a pic that needs cropping, and I want to print to an 8x10, how do I do that? Is there a menu in Photoshop that I need to use instead of the 'crop tool' ?

tks

[2stroke]

When the crop tool is selected, there are settings on the top that show a drop down box where you can select the size/ layout. It has something like, Constrain to current dimensions, 8x10, 10x12, and such. That is how it is in Photoshop Elements 6 Mac.

[SandeeWig]

When you select the crop tool in Photoshop, you have the options to set specific crop dimensions at the top.

Here is a link* that displays it visually (since I don't have it on my machine at work)
Photoshop Tutorial: Cropping Photos To Specific Frame Sizes

*about halfway down the page, Step 2.

[Ottor]

Originally Posted by SandeeWig

When you select the crop tool in Photoshop, you have the options to set specific crop dimensions at the top.

Here is a link* that displays it visually (since I don't have it on my machine at work)
Photoshop Tutorial: Cropping Photos To Specific Frame Sizes

*about halfway down the page, Step 2.

Awesome Tutorial !! Answered my question perfectly ....

Love this place....

tks,

[SandeeWig]

Not a problem! Glad to help.

And by the way, Welcome to DPS!!