Why wont my Mac let me crop pictures?

Reading Time: 11 minutes read

You can’t always capture the perfect shot first-time but with the Crop tool, you can remove unwanted parts of your image after. You can also change the aspect ratio to make your photo ready for social media if you need to.

So if you’re looking to edit a photo and achieve that perfect crop with your Apple device, keep on reading. Plus, when you finally finish editing you can display your beloved photos proudly with an array of custom photo products available. Why not discover our range of stunning photo canvases to help inspire you? 

How to crop a photo on a Mac

There are several different ways  to crop a photo on a Mac.

Here, we’ll explain how to crop an image using the Photos app, Preview, and Photoshop.

How to crop an image using the Photos app for Mac

For a quick fix, you can simply click the Auto button which will automatically straighten and crop your photo.

For more control, simply follow these steps:

1. Open Photos.

Here, you will see your image library.

2. Double-click the photo you want to crop.

3. Click Edit in the toolbar.

4. Select Crop from the top toolbar.

5. Crop freeform or use a ratio.

For freeform cropping, drag the selection rectangle by its edges or corners to achieve your  desired size.

To use a set ratio to crop, select its size under Aspect.

6. Straighten your photo.

Adjust the numbered dial – a grid will appear over your selected image to help with alignment.

7. Click Done to save your changes.

Want to undo your cropping? Just click Reset to start again.

How to crop a photo into a circle

With Photos, it’s simple to crop your photo into a circle on your Mac.

You can follow the same steps as above – just make sure you select Elliptical Selection in Crop mode. With this, you can drag your cursor around the photo, with the photo’s new outline appearing as a blue-dotted circular shape.

How to use your keyboard for cropping shortcuts

Want to make the editing process faster? There are lots of keyboard shortcuts that can make using the Photos app even quicker.

The ones most useful for cropping photos are:

• C – Launches the Crop tool.
• Option – This has two main uses:

Hold this to alter how you crop with a set aspect ratio. If you press Option as you drag from a corner, it will base the new crop on the center. Without using this shortcut, the default setting means the opposite corner will stay in its place.

Without using the Option key

When using the Option key

• You can hold down Option to slow down the rotation dial. This helps you rotate with greater precision. 

There are several other useful  keyboard shortcuts that can help speed up the editing process:

• Command and Return – Launches Edit for your selected image(s). You can also use this to exit Edit.
• A – Takes you to Adjust mode.
• F – Changes to Filters mode.
• M – Holding this shows you the original photo without your new adjustments.
• Command and Plus – Zoom in.
• Command and Minus – Zoom out.
• Command and E – In Adjust mode, this will automatically enhance the photo.
• Arrow keys – Lets you move between photos. This will either scroll through all your photos or just those you highlighted when opening Edit.

How to crop an image using Preview

As the default app for viewing images on your Mac, Preview will usually open up automatically when you click an image. If it doesn’t, simply double tap on your chosen image, hover on Open With, and click Preview.

Once your chosen image is open in Preview, it’s simple to crop your photos:

1. Click the Show Markup Toolbar button. (It’s the toolbox icon.)

It’s the toolbox icon.

2. Click, hold, and drag on the image to select your crop.

3. Drag any of the blue dots to resize your crop (if needed).

4. Press Command and K to crop.

5. Save your image.

You can press Command and S to do this. Alternatively, you can select File in the Apple toolbar menu, then click Save.

How to crop an image in Photoshop

As you’ve seen, Apple’s pre-installed Photos and Preview can be used to crop efficiently and effectively. An alternative is the paid tool Adobe Photoshop.

To crop an image in Photoshop, simply:

1. Open Photoshop.

2. Select File > Open.

3. Select the image you want to open.

4. Click Open.

5. Choose the Crop tool from the Tool Panel, or press C.

6. Bring your cursor to where you want a corner to be on the image, and click.

7. Keeping the cursor engaged, move it diagonally.

8. Release the cursor.

A box will then appear over the image, showing that this crop has been preserved.

9. Perfect your crop.

Move the placement of the cropped box by dragging and dropping it, while holding the cursor down.

Change the size of the area by clicking on one of the corner markers, engaging the cursor and dragging. If you press Shift while you do this, the crop will change in proportion to its existing aspect ratio.

To rotate, click on one of the corner markers and drag the cursor until you’re happy with it.

10. Press the Return key or the tick button in the Options Panel to then crop the image.

If you don’t wish to keep your chosen crop, press the Esc key or the No symbol in the Options Panel.

How to crop a photo on an iPhone and iPad

If you love nothing more than taking snaps on your phone, then learning how to crop your photos on iPhone or iPad is a helpful skill. And thankfully, the process is exactly the same for iPad. For these devices,, the only cropping option (without downloading a third-party app) is the Photos app.

Here’s how to crop a photo using the Photos app on an iOS device:

1. Open the Photos app.

2. Select the photo you want to crop.

3. Tap Edit and then the crop button.

4. Select whether to do this manually or automatically.

a. To do this manually, simply drag the corners of the image to resize the photo.

b. To do this automatically, select your preferred aspect ratio.

5. And then tap Done to save your changes.

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