Cropping (visual arts)

Cropping is the selection of which parts of an image remain visible by changing its frame. It can redirect attention, alter composition, and change an image’s meaning.

Aspect ratio: The proportional relationship between an image’s width and height. Changing the crop’s proportions can make the same image feel panoramic, square, or vertical.
Photojournalism: The practice of reporting news through photographs. A crop can clarify a news photograph while also changing what evidence it appears to show.
Image resizing: Changing an image’s pixel dimensions while retaining its full depicted area. Resizing changes scale, whereas cropping removes parts of the depicted area.
Photo manipulation: The alteration of a photograph, including changes that affect its appearance or interpretation. Cropping can manipulate emphasis or context without changing any objects within the image.
Composition (visual arts): The arrangement of visual elements within an artwork or image. Cropping is one way to reorganize an image’s composition without moving its subjects.
Portrait photography: Photography that depicts individuals or groups, emphasizing their appearance or character. Portrait crops shape intimacy by deciding how much of a person and setting remain visible.
Image masking: Concealing or revealing selected image regions through a mask, often without deleting them. Masks can hide regions reversibly, while a crop commonly defines a new outer frame.
Visual framing (communication): The selection and presentation of visual material that shape how an audience interprets it. Cropping is a literal framing choice with consequences for interpretation.
Rule of thirds: A compositional guideline that places key elements along a grid dividing an image into thirds. A crop can bring a subject or horizon closer to these suggested alignments.
Image editing: The alteration of digital or analog images to change their appearance or use. Cropping is a basic editing operation in image-processing software.

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