want to crop a photo
Have MacBook Air 2020. Any way to "photoshop" a picture with tools built in to this computer?
Have MacBook Air 2020. Any way to "photoshop" a picture with tools built in to this computer?
Hi LobosCarol,
welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community :-)
Re: want to crop a photo : Any way to "photoshop" a picture with tools built in to this computer?
The "Photos" app has some tools, also the "Preview" app ... (also can crop using screen shot, but may lower-res.)
(.. wondering which MacOS version you are using.)
Eg: Here's one way to crop a photo:
Open photo in Preview
Choose File > Duplicate (so original stays intact)
Using the duplicate copy: Press and drag to make a rectangular selection
Drag the selection's "corner dots" in or out, so the section you want to keep is within the selection.
When ready, choose "Tools" in the top menu and Click "Crop" (down near the bottom of the list).
Save the file with a different filename (so you will have both the original, and the cropped version)
Preview User Guide for Mac - Apple Support or Photos User Guide for Mac - Apple Support
or
Take a screenshot on your Mac - Apple Support
How to quickly capture a portion of the screen (eg: crop from photo open on desktop) NB: may be lower-res
All the best :-)
Hi LobosCarol,
welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community :-)
Re: want to crop a photo : Any way to "photoshop" a picture with tools built in to this computer?
The "Photos" app has some tools, also the "Preview" app ... (also can crop using screen shot, but may lower-res.)
(.. wondering which MacOS version you are using.)
Eg: Here's one way to crop a photo:
Open photo in Preview
Choose File > Duplicate (so original stays intact)
Using the duplicate copy: Press and drag to make a rectangular selection
Drag the selection's "corner dots" in or out, so the section you want to keep is within the selection.
When ready, choose "Tools" in the top menu and Click "Crop" (down near the bottom of the list).
Save the file with a different filename (so you will have both the original, and the cropped version)
Preview User Guide for Mac - Apple Support or Photos User Guide for Mac - Apple Support
or
Take a screenshot on your Mac - Apple Support
How to quickly capture a portion of the screen (eg: crop from photo open on desktop) NB: may be lower-res
All the best :-)
Photoshop and Photos have been designed for different purposes. Each has different strength.
When I need to combine to photos into one I am usually using Graphic Converter, after extracting the object from a photo in Photos on macOS 13 Ventura. With Graphic Converter I can easily paste the extracted object into a different image.
A basic graphic composition can also be done in the free tools that are coming with any Mac: For example, Preview allows us to paste parts of a different image from the clipboard into another document.
Or, we can overlay parts of images and create a collage with Pages or Keynote. Pages and Keynote offer several shapes to crop images as a heart or star, etc.
If this is somewhat you want to do:
the answer is no. To add parts of one photo to another you'll need an image editor that handles layers like Photoshop Elements, Gimp, Affinity Photos, GraphicConverter, etc. The two above were done with Photoshop Elements (PSE).
However, you can remove items from a photo with Photos' Retouch tool:
You don't say what version of macOS your MacBook Air is running, but assuming it is reasonably up to date:
The Preview application can crop a freestanding photo file quickly.
The Photos application has a crop tool inside its edit tool for photos kept inside its library.
Both applications come with the operating system. Either has more capabilities than just cropping. Neither comes anywhere near the "Photoshop" level.
Open Source Software "The GIMP" GNU Image Manipulation Program (version for Mac) can be downloaded for free. Have often found it useful when Photoshop isn't available.
Tools:
Just the help I needed. Step by step perfect for a novice. MANY thanks.
Carol
Thank you kindly for your reply, LobosCarol, and for letting us know we helped. Cheers :-)
want to crop a photo