Cropping Question

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:43 pm

Im not sure how to ask this question. Anyway, if i crop something in CS2, i have the option of telling it to crop at 4"x6". Thats fine, i draw a box and it maintains the "4x6" rectangle.

If it is ACTUALLY 4x6, how come i can 'drag' it bigger? Does this question make sense at all? It seems as though if i typed 4x6, it would put it up and the only option i would have is to move the sqaure around on the picture, NOT have the ability to make it bigger or smaller.

Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 190

4 x 6 is just the ratio that you are getting for your rectangle. You are able to select the size of the rectangle so you can crop the photo tighter and still keep the 4 x 6 ratio. To get your finished 4 x 6, you need to convert your image size to 4 x 6. the crop tool when used as mentioned, only allows you to crop the image to fit a 4 x 6 frame so the image ends up being cropped to YOUR liking. Remember that a 4 x 6 is more rectangular than a 5 x 7, and a 5 x 7 is more rectangular than an 8 x 10... and so on.

In other words, let say your picture was a single flower in a field. But you just wanted a 4 x 6 print of the flower and not the field, then you would need a tight crop of the flower to eliminate the field, but you'd want to make the crop fit the 4 x 6 ratio so what you crop is exactly what you're going to see in the frame. This option lets you select that small rectangle of the appropriate ratio to make this happen. Then you need to convert the file size to 4 x 6 inches before you print, making note of the new resolution (pixels per inch) to ensure your image will still look good and become obviously pixelated. Hopefully this explanation works for you!!

Ryan