Keep the part of the picture that matters
Cropping changes what is inside the frame. Use it to remove distracting edges, focus on a subject, or prepare a required shape before resizing. This tool selects a rectangle from your original image; it does not rotate the picture, add padding, or automatically detect faces.
Square, portrait, or landscape?
The same source image can tell a different story depending on its crop. Compare the outlined region with the result below. The subject's proportions stay the same; only the visible area changes. Preview panels are scaled to fit the page, not displayed at native pixel size.
A square removes much of the landscape. Keep the main subject away from the edges if the destination displays a circular avatar.
Illustrative coordinates: X 300, Y 0, Width 800, Height 800. These guide buttons change this diagram only; the tool above uses manual crop dimensions.
A square is useful when a destination asks for equal width and height. A portrait crop leaves less room at the sides, while a wide crop sacrifices height. These are example shapes, not current specifications for a particular social platform; check the destination before exporting.
Set a crop with exact coordinates
X and Y describe the top-left corner of the crop in the original image. X increases to the right; Y increases downward. Width and Height describe how many source pixels the rectangle contains, not how large the preview looks on your screen.
Example: a centered square from 1200 × 800
The largest square is 800 × 800. Center it horizontally with X = (1200 − 800) ÷ 2 = 200. Set Y = 0, Width = 800, Height = 800.
For a 600 × 600 centered square, use X = 300 and Y = 100. This cuts away more of the scene and leaves fewer pixels for the final output.
The rectangle must fit: X + Width cannot exceed the source width, and Y + Height cannot exceed its height. The tool clamps values to keep the crop inside the image. When setting a large crop, move X and Y into position first, then enter Width and Height; check all four values afterward.
To make a 4:5 crop, use dimensions such as 640 × 800. For 16:9, 1200 × 675 is one example. There is no ratio-lock control in this cropper: dragging an edge or corner can change the proportions. Enter the dimensions again after freehand adjustments if an exact ratio matters.
Position the frame deliberately
- Faces: leave enough space above the head and around the sides. Check the final destination's mask; a circular avatar can hide the corners of a square.
- Text: keep complete lines and enough margin for readability. Cutting half a word or removing a label can change the meaning.
- Products: inspect the entire outline, including handles, shadows, and small attachments. A tight crop may remove details a viewer needs.
- Context: decide whether the background explains the subject. Removing every surrounding detail is not always an improvement.
Drag inside the crop box to reposition it, or use its handles to change the size. On a small screen, the numeric fields are useful for precision. A crop can trim an uneven edge, but it cannot straighten a tilted horizon by rotating the image.
Worked workflow: landscape photo to square avatar
- Start with the original. For this example, assume a 2400 × 1600 landscape photo and a required 400 × 400 final image.
- Choose a square with room for the subject. A centered 1600 × 1600 crop uses X = 400 and Y = 0. Move it if the person is off-center, keeping the whole rectangle inside the source.
- Download the crop. The result is 1600 × 1600, not yet 400 × 400. Cropping determines the composition first.
- Resize the square. Open it in the Image Resizer, leave the aspect ratio locked, and enter a width of 400. Its height should also become 400.
- Check the final upload. Inspect the face at the final size. If there is also a byte limit and JPEG is accepted, use the Image Compressor only if needed.
Do not crop directly to a tiny region merely because the final avatar is small. A larger, well-framed square gives you more source detail to work with before the final resize. Keep the uncropped original for other layouts.
When you need resizing or padding instead
Resizing scales the whole image to new dimensions. Cropping discards part of it. Padding places the complete image inside a larger canvas with empty space around it. If you must keep a landscape scene complete inside a square without stretching it, you need padding rather than a square crop.
This cropper cannot add a border or transparent canvas outside the original image. Use an editor with canvas-size controls for padding. If transparency is required, choose a format that supports it; JPEG cannot store transparent pixels.