Using Guided Cropping in Photoshop Elements 11

Synopsis: The removal of unwanted parts of an image is called cropping. In this article we look at a basic PSE 11 procedure for cropping – the “Crop Photo” Guided Edit.

Sometimes there are parts of a photo that don’t really contribute to its overall effect and can be distracting. Removing these is called cropping, and cropping a photo can increase the focus on the intended subject.

There are several tools in PSE 11 for cropping. The most commonly used crops are to use regular shapes, and in this article we’re going to do a straightforward rectangular crop.

To perform a Guided edit open the image in the PSE 11 Editor and selected Guided as the mode. In the list of Touchups in the panel on the right select “Crop Photo”. Two things happen. Firstly, a crop rectangle is drawn on the image as shown here. This includes additional horizontal and vertical lines that divide the image into horizontal and vertical thirds.

Secondly, a panel appears on the right that contains the controls with which you can fine tune the crop you require.

Begin by making a selection from the dropdown labelled “Crop Box Size”. This lets you select from options related to both the size of the resulting image (after the crop) and the aspect ratio. You can choose a specific size (e.g. 4 x 6 in) and when you perform the crop that will be the size of the result. Alternatively you can select “Use Photo Ratio”. This option will allow you to select the size of the resulting crop but PSE 11 will force its dimensions to have the same aspect ratio as the original image. There is also a “No Restriction” option that gives you freedom to make the cropped image any possible size and aspect ratio.

Now choose one of the options from the dropdown labelled “Overlay”:
• One option is “Rule of Thirds”. This option corresponds to the grid layout shown above. You should position points of focus in the image at the intersections of the horizontal and vertical gridlines.
• With the option “Golden Ratio” the over lay is changed and there is a clear point of focus. You should position an important part of the image at this point of focus, which is highlighted with a concentric circle in the grid. (The Flip button is used in conjunction with this option to flip the overlay about a vertical line.)
• Another option is “Grid”. With this option there is a straightforward grid on the image and you can use it to more accurately position the image before you do the crop.
• The final option is “No Overlay”. With this option no overlay is shown and your position of the cropping rectangle is completely at your own discretion.

Having made your selections, use the sizing handles to position and size the cropping rectangle. When everything is in position, click on the green tick mark at the bottom right corner of the cropping rectangle to complete the crop. At any time you can click the “no entry” sign next to the green tick mark to cancel. When you’ve finished, click “Done” at the bottom of the Guided Edit panel on the right.

Don’t forget that you can use the Undo command if you’re not happy with the results.

Simon Calder

Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA. He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!