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How To Crop a Photograph

To "crop" is to cut or trim a picture in such a way that it removes any unnecessary backgrounds, foregrounds or distracting objects, and gives a clear view of the main subject in the photo.

There are several ways to crop a photo. Much of the way you choose will depend on the individual photo, where in your scrapbooking layout you want to put the picture, and your personal taste. Cropping pictures is fun and shouldn't be intimidating.

If you have limited scrapbooking supplies then you might consider using some shape templates, a straight edge, a photo pencil, and scissors.

  1. If you want a square or rectangular photo then place the straight edge across the photo and trace all the way across with the photo pencil (be sure it is a photo safe pencil! Do not use pens or markers!) so that it separates unwanted backgrounds or distractions from the main subject.
  2. Then use the scissors to cut along the inside of the line.
  3. Repeat this on any side that needs distractions cropped out. Make sure your corners are 90 degree angles to make the photo "square". Cutting on a gridded mat is the easiest way to achieve this.
  4. If you have unwanted pencil markings left on your photo, use a clean, dry paper towel to rub it off. Do not use water or tissues with lotion as these will ruin your photos!

If you would rather have a shaped photo such as a circle or oval, then this is when you would use your templates.

  1. Choose the size and shape you want. Use a size that will crop out most of the unwanted backgrounds without cutting into the subject of the picture.
  2. Center the template over the subject.
  3. Then trace all the way around the scrapbooking template with the photo pencil.
  4. Again, use the scissors to cut inside the line you traced. Use slow even movements to get the smoothest edges.
  5. Remove excess pencil markings.

Of course, there are easier ways to crop photos. That is, if you have the needed scrapbooking tools. Such as: a personal trimmer, a cutting system and a cutting mate.

Personal trimmers come in a variety of sizes. They all have a flat, gridded surface to place your photos on and a bladed arm. Personal trimmers are used for cutting smooth, straight lines.

  1. Lift the arm of the personal trimmer.
  2. Place your photo evenly on the grid with the portion you want to remove over hanging the edge beneath the arm.
  3. Hold the photos firmly in place. Some personal trimmers have a piece that goes over the picture for you to press on to hold it tightly.
  4. Be aware of where all your fingers are!
  5. Then, firmly and quickly lower the bladed arm. The unwanted portion should be sliced away. Repeat this on any edge of the photo that needs backgrounds or distractions removed.

Make sure to always line your photo up with the grid on the personal trimmer. This will ensure 90 degree corners.

When finished, you may choose to round your corners. Of course, this is the purpose of you corner rounder.

Place the corner of your photo into the punch and push down quickly.

Cutting systems are used mostly for creating shapes for your scrapbook like circles and ovals. Although, some make other less popular shapes like hearts and stars available. Some also allow you to cut straight and wavy lines. Scrapbooking cutting systems also come in a variety of styles. Most come with individual templates and running blades. The templates have tracks on them in which the blades fit to give a smooth, clean cut. Depending on the style of cutting system you have, either the templates, tracks or blades will give you the ability to get the same shape in a larger or smaller size.

  1. Place your photo on the cutting mat. This is very important!
  2. Center the size and shape template you need over the subject. Be sure this will cut out most of the unwanted photo without cutting into the subject.
  3. Press firmly on the template so that it doesn't slide.
  4. Then place the blade in the track in the template.
  5. Firmly push down on the blade while slowly and smoothly running the blade around the template.
  6. When you return the blade to the starting point, remove the blade and gently lift the template.
  7. Then peel the excess photo from your cropped picture.

When using the cutting system, ALWAYS crop on the cutting mat. These blades are very sharp and could easily scar your table or shred your scrapbook.

Another way to crop pictures is to silhouette it. This is when you use scissors to cut EXACTLY around the subject in the picture. This way there is NO backgrounds at all. You can do this solely or you can do it in conjunction with using a template. Such as: You have a picture of your child on a slide. You want to show off the jungle gym but you can fit it and the slide into a template. Then you use the template to cut around the jungle gym portion of the picture. Then you stop lift the blade before you cut all the way around, then you use your scissors to silhouette the slide.

Choosing which style of cropping and what shape to use will depend on your scrapbooking layout. Square and rectangular pictures fit nicely into the corners of your page, while circles and ovals make wonderful center pieces. You can mix and match shapes on a page and you can overlap. It all depends on what you like.