How to crop your photos

Introduction

Explore the benefits of cropping

• Cropping helps to emphasize the main subject of a photo by eliminating distracting details.
• You can also use cropping to remove damaged portions of a picture for quick photo restoration.
• In the cropped image above, notice how much better the photo looks without the distracting elements: the woman in blue, the small portion of white in the lower left-hand corner, and the blurry object in the background. It's easy to do!

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Step one: Open your photo editing menu

• In Windows Live Photo Gallerydouble-click on the photo you want to crop, and it will appear in a viewing and editing window.
• Click Fix in the toolbar at the top of screen.

• A photo editing menu will appear on the right side of the window.
• Select Crop photo.

• Once you click Crop photo, the menu will expand and you'll find two cropping options: Proportion (which you can use to adjust the size of the area you crop) and Rotate frame (which you can use to adjust the orientation of your photo), plus the option to Apply your crop.

• When you click Crop photo, a frame will appear over a portion of your photo to indicate the adjustable cropping area.

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Step two: Adjust the size of the cropping frame

• Click the box beneath the Proportion option, and a drop-down menu will appear with a variety of preset cropping sizes to choose from, as well as the options Custom and Original.
• Select any of the sizes listed in the drop-down menu and the cropping frame will automatically adjust to your chosen size.
• If you would like to change the cropping frame from a preset dimension back to its original size, select Original.

• Or you can select the Custom option to adjust the cropping frame manually. (You may also grab the frame with your cursor to begin manually adjusting the size at any time.)

• Use your cursor to grab any of the small white squares found on the frame, and drag your mouse to adjust the size from that particular corner or side.
• To move the entire frame, place you cursor anywhere in the center of the frame and drag to a preferred area of your photo.

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Step three: Adjust the orientation of the cropping frame

• Select the Rotate frame option to automatically rotate the cropping frame from horizontal to vertical positioning.

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Step four: Crop your photo

• When you've eliminated unwanted details from your photo by adjusting the size and orientation of the cropping area, click Apply.

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How to undo your crop

• To reverse one or all of the changes you've made to your photo, click Undo at the bottom of the viewing screen and select the option you want.

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Get Started with Windows Live Photo Gallery

Learn more

• See how to improve photos with cropping that can be done right in your HP printer.
• Find more step-by-step instructions on color correcting your photos and removing red-eye using Windows Live Photo Gallery.
• Discover tips to edit photos in-printer—no PC required!