How to crop an image
- Open your photo in the editor above — drag and drop, browse or paste.
- Choose an aspect ratio. Pick Free for any shape, or lock the box to 1:1, 4:5, 3:2, 16:9 or 9:16.
- Adjust the crop box. Drag inside the box to move it and drag a corner handle to make it larger or smaller. The selection size in pixels is shown below the ratio buttons.
- Apply the crop and download, or keep editing — for example, resize the cropped image to an exact size afterwards.
Which aspect ratio should I use?
- 1:1 (square) — profile pictures, product photos for online shops, classic Instagram posts.
- 4:5 (portrait) — the tallest format allowed in the Instagram and Facebook feed, so it takes up more of the screen.
- 3:2 — the native shape of most DSLR and mirrorless cameras, and of standard 6×4 inch prints.
- 16:9 (widescreen) — YouTube thumbnails, presentation slides, website banners and desktop wallpapers.
- 9:16 (vertical) — Stories, Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts and phone wallpapers.
Not sure what a ratio means? Our guide to aspect ratios explains it with examples.
Composition tips
- Use the grid. The crop box shows a rule-of-thirds grid. Placing the subject’s eyes or the horizon on one of the lines usually looks more balanced than dead center.
- Leave breathing room. Give a moving subject space to “look into”. A person facing right should usually have more empty space on the right.
- Straight horizons matter. If a horizon is tilted, it is easier to notice after cropping tightly. Crop a little looser if you cannot straighten the photo.
- Watch the resolution. A tight crop of a small photo leaves few pixels. If the selection shows fewer pixels than you need (for example under 1080 px for Instagram), crop wider.
Crop first, then resize
Cropping removes pixels around the edges; it does not shrink the remaining part. To get an exact output size such as 1080×1350, crop to 4:5 first, then switch to the Resize tab and enter 1080 as the width. Because the editor keeps your changes, you download only once.