Crop, straighten, or rotate a photo

Crop, straighten, or rotate a photo using the Crop tool.

Increase the size of the document window so that you have some space around the photo. (Position the pointer on the bottom right corner of the document window. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag.)

Select the Crop tool in the toolbox.

In the options bar at the top of the work area, make sure Width, Height, and Resolution contain no values. These settings constrain the dimensions of the crop rectangle. If necessary, click the Clear button to clear them.

Drag over the part of the photo that you want to keep. To straighten or rotate the photo, drag the cropping rectangle over the entire photo.

If necessary, adjust the cropping rectangle as follows:

• To adjust the size of the cropping rectangle, drag a corner or side handle.
• To nudge the cropping rectangle slightly, press an arrow key.
• To move the cropping rectangle to a new location, place the cursor inside the cropping rectangle and drag it to the new location.
• To rotate or straighten the area, move the pointer outside the cropping rectangle (the pointer becomes a curved double-arrow) and drag. The cropping rectangle rotates, but the image remains stationary until you crop it. You may need to reposition and resize the selection box.

Note: If the cropping rectangle is hard to adjust because it sticks or seems to jump to set locations, make sure the Snap option on the View menu is not enabled. A check mark indicates the option is on. Choose View > Snap to turn off the option.

When you are satisfied with the size and location of the cropping rectangle, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) to crop the photo. If you rotated or straightened the cropping rectangle in the previous step, the photo will adjust to the angle you selected.

Photoshop can automatically crop and straighten a photo for you. Choose File > Automate > Crop and Straighten.