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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Photoshop CS4 crop tool problem
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 06/10/2009 10:01:23 PM · #1
Ok I have been using photoshop for years actually use it for work being a designer and all but this damn crop tool tonight is driving me crazy....

I am on a mac and everytime I crop a photo in CS4 it is not only cropping the photo but making the photo smaller in size.

anyone experience this before?
 06/10/2009 10:07:20 PM · #2
Have you got the size determined on the options bar?

I prefer to use the marquee tool....type in my size ratio and then crop from there...the photo is not reduced in size only the edge cropped off where I want.
 06/10/2009 10:15:52 PM · #3
Originally posted by Judi:
Have you got the size determined on the options bar?

I prefer to use the marquee tool....type in my size ratio and then crop from there...the photo is not reduced in size only the edge cropped off where I want.


thanks Judi that did it.....
 06/10/2009 11:08:44 PM · #4
For some reason when you select a preset size it has a width height and ppi, if there is something in there it is going to resize your pic as well, just make sure that nothing is in the ppi field up top when you select the crop tool.
 06/11/2009 02:45:01 AM · #5
I am having a similar problem with both CS3 and CS4. If I specify the width and height to constrain the crop PS goes ahead and resizes my image whether I have the resolution included or deleted - it makes NO difference. I want PS to discard the pixels outside the crop not create new ones in the crop so that I end up with the same total pixels after the crop as I had before. Hoe do you stop PS from resizing when you do a constrained crop!!!
 06/11/2009 02:46:07 AM · #6
Originally posted by acephotos:
I am having a similar problem with both CS3 and CS4. If I specify the width and height to constrain the crop PS goes ahead and resizes my image whether I have the resolution included or deleted - it makes NO difference. I want PS to discard the pixels outside the crop not create new ones in the crop so that I end up with the same total pixels after the crop as I had before. Hoe do you stop PS from resizing when you do a constrained crop!!!


Try using the marquee tool and then Edit/Crop.
 06/11/2009 03:14:08 AM · #7
Thanks Judi
That's what I have had to resort to but once you draw your marquee, I can't resize it to fine tune the crop selection (or can I but I just don't know how!!). I have read in a number of places that simply leaving the resolution blank in the crop options should result in a crop without a resizing. If that is the way it is supposed to work (and I wish it did) does anyone know of a way of using the crop tool (constrained) that will achieve this.
The reason it is important to me is that I take around 600-700 sports photos each week that all need a constrained crop followed later by an unconstrained crop.
06/11/2009 03:18:30 AM · #8
Originally posted by acephotos:
Thanks Judi
That's what I have had to resort to but once you draw your marquee, I can't resize it to fine tune the crop selection (or can I but I just don't know how!!). I have read in a number of places that simply leaving the resolution blank in the crop options should result in a crop without a resizing. If that is the way it is supposed to work (and I wish it did) does anyone know of a way of using the crop tool (constrained) that will achieve this.
The reason it is important to me is that I take around 600-700 sports photos each week that all need a constrained crop followed later by an unconstrained crop.


I can crop mine without changing the resolution of the image. I will look into it later for you.
 06/11/2009 08:51:56 AM · #9
Originally posted by acephotos:

The reason it is important to me is that I take around 600-700 sports photos each week that all need a constrained crop followed later by an unconstrained crop.


The issue you're talking about is why I never use Ps's crop tool anymore. Like you, I need a crop constrained to a particular ratio, but I don't want it to re-sample.
If you are dealing with that many photos, and you need to do basic global processing, cropping, rating, etc, then use LightRoom. The crop tool in LightRoom behaves the way you want it to, and you can even rotate the crop to level the horizon if desired. Far superior to the Ps crop tool. Lr takes a little getting used to, but once you have com up the curve, you'll wonder why you ever used anything else.
 09/02/2009 02:58:35 PM · #10
Hi there -

I've never registered here before but just spent an hour searching for a solution to this and FOUND IT - so I'm going to pay it forward by registering and sharing it with you. I was really frustrated by the lack of the "aspect ratio" tool in Crop as well - I actually have PS Element 6 and would sometimes go back to using that!

Well, here's what I found - while you can't do it in Crop in CS4 (still not sure why they did that), you actually can get EXACTLY what you want to do - resize and fine tune a selection box for cropping - by using Select > Transform Selection.

OK, so here's the link that explains the process when you want to use the original aspect ratio:
//www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/crop-photo/

Basically, you Select All (to get the ratio), then go to menu and choose Select > Transform Selection, voila - little slider boxes appear and you can slide and scale in the correct aspect ratio as long as you click on a corner to LOCK in the ratio. (You can also do with the link at the top). You can do exactly what you like and keep the ratio, then go to Edit > Crop and you've cropped without actually resizing the picture - and kept the ratio. Be careful not to choose a "middle" drag box or it removes the link between width and height so they are not longer linked to each other.

So, in your case, you can set your Fixed Ratio in the regular Selection tool, then go to Select > Transform Selection. Little boxes are there to let you fine tune to your heart's content.

Whew - well, I won't get that hour and a half back but at least I know how to do it. Hope this helps!

Alexa
 09/02/2009 03:43:12 PM · #11
Originally posted by digitalpins:
Ok I have been using photoshop for years actually use it for work being a designer and all but this damn crop tool tonight is driving me crazy....

I am on a mac and everytime I crop a photo in CS4 it is not only cropping the photo but making the photo smaller in size.

anyone experience this before?


You may have set the dpi by accident. Without the dpi set, sizing doesn't change.
 09/02/2009 04:41:55 PM · #12
Great advice!
I independently discovered the "Transform Selection" option the other day. I'll add yet another couple of neat things that are possible when using this technique:

- When re-sizing your selection, just hold the "Shift" key to constrain aspect to the original selection. So if you used "Select All" to make the original selection, you can maintain the same aspect ratio as your original very easily
- You can rotate the selection during the transformation. Position the cursor just outside a corner of the selection box, and lo, it changes to a double-ended arrow for arbitrary rotation! Now, once you've rotated the selection, you'll notice that Image>Crop doesn't work as expected, but no worries! Just select File>Automate>Crop & Straighten Photos, et viola! Your photo is cropped and rotated as required, and opened as a *copy* so the original uncropped photo is still displayed. If you don't like the final result, just close it, and re-crop!
- Because you can rotate the selection, it's easy to crop from landscape to portrait (or the reverse) and keep the original aspect ratio. Just resize, then rotate the selection, click the check mark, and File>Automate>Crop & Straighten Photos, and you're golden.
 09/02/2009 04:54:24 PM · #13
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Originally posted by digitalpins:
Ok I have been using photoshop for years actually use it for work being a designer and all but this damn crop tool tonight is driving me crazy....

I am on a mac and every time I crop a photo in CS4 it is not only cropping the photo but making the photo smaller in size.

anyone experience this before?


You may have set the dpi by accident. Without the dpi set, sizing doesn't change.


Yup, I use the crop tool all the time with no problems at all. Just make sure all the settings in the bar at the top are all blank and it works great. Or if you are cropping to a specific aspect then just enter the width and height and leave the resolution blank... One thing I do actually really like is the fact that the crop tool dims everything around the area you are cropping which helps a bit extra in visualizing what the final crop will look like...

-dave
 09/02/2009 05:23:20 PM · #14
Originally posted by dknourek:
Yup, I use the crop tool all the time with no problems at all. Just make sure all the settings in the bar at the top are all blank and it works great...

-dave


You're mostly correct. Assume we have an image from a typical DSLR at an aspect ratio of 1.5:1 and we want to crop to square. We can set the width and height, but Ps *requires* that the units be specified, either pixels or a length unit (i.e. cm or in). If pixels is specified as the unit, and you enter "1" and "1" as the dimensions, well, you can still select any crop size you want, but the photo will be re-sampled to 1x1 pixel. Hardly useful; you need to know the final pixel size, and accept that your crop will be re-sampled to that size.
Now, if you set the size to 1 in by 1 in, it will not re-sample, which is more useful, but it *will* set the DPI to make the image dimensions 1 inch. So if I select a square crop at 2720px by 2720px, it will set the DPI to 2720. So I either need to know what physical print size I'll be using, or I need to fake it and just reset the DPI manually later.
So the take-away is that if you know the final (physical) size you want the image to be, you are golden. If, however, you want the pixel dimensions and dpi left alone, you are out of luck, and that is where the rectangular marquee technique becomes valuable!
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