How to crop a photo to an exact size or ratio
Crop to a square, 4:5, 16:9 or 4×6 print without stretching anything, then set the exact pixel size a form or platform asks for.
Upload forms, print shops and social platforms all want photos in particular shapes and sizes. Get the shape wrong and something gets stretched, squashed or cropped by someone else’s software, usually through the top of somebody’s head. Doing it yourself takes two steps: crop to the right shape, then resize to the right size.
Shape first: the aspect ratio
Aspect ratio is the shape of the picture, width compared with height. A 1080 × 1080 post and a 400 × 400 avatar are both 1:1; a 4×6 print and a 3000 × 2000 photo are both 3:2. Match the ratio first and resizing becomes a matter of scaling, with nothing distorted.
Crop image can lock its crop box to common ratios:
| Ratio | Typical use |
|---|---|
| 1:1 | Profile pictures, square posts |
| 4:5 | Portrait social posts |
| 3:2 | 6×4 inch prints, most camera photos |
| 16:9 | Video thumbnails, presentation slides, banners |
| 9:16 | Stories and vertical video |
Pick one, drag the box over the part of the photo you want and resize it from the corners; the shape stays locked. Arrow keys nudge the box and Alt with the arrows resizes it, which helps with fine adjustments.
Exact pixel coordinates
For any other shape, such as 4:3 or a passport photo’s ratio, choose Free and type the width and height in pixels. You can also type the left and top position, which is handy for cropping a series of screenshots to exactly the same area.
Then size: hitting exact pixels
Cropping keeps the original resolution, so a square cropped from a phone photo might be 3000 × 3000 pixels. If a site wants exactly 1080 × 1080, run the cropped image through Resize image with Exact size. Because the shape already matches, it scales evenly. If the shapes don’t match, the resizer warns you that the result would be stretched.
Shrinking is always safe. Enlarging a small crop to a bigger size works but can’t add detail, so crop generously from the largest original you have.
Keeping the whole photo
Sometimes nothing can be cut: a group photo where everyone matters, or a product shot that fills the frame. In that case, add space instead of removing it. Add border pads a photo to a square or 4:5 shape with a colour of your choice, so the platform has nothing to crop.
Checking the requirements
If a form keeps rejecting a photo you have already cropped, the problem is usually file size or format rather than shape. Why won’t a website accept my photo? goes through the checks in order, and what size should a profile picture be lists sizes for the common platforms.
Common questions
What ratio is a 4×6 photo print?
3:2. Six divided by four is 1.5, the same as three divided by two. 5×7 prints are close to 7:5, and 8×10 prints are 5:4, so each print size needs its own crop.
Why does my photo look stretched after resizing?
The new width and height had a different shape from the original. Crop to the target’s aspect ratio first, then resize, and nothing has to stretch.
Does cropping reduce quality?
Cropping only removes pixels from the edges; the ones you keep are unchanged. Saving as JPG re-compresses the result slightly, which isn’t visible at a high quality setting.
How do I crop without losing part of the photo?
You can’t change the shape by cropping without removing something. To keep the whole photo, pad it with a border to the new shape instead.