- Just a Quickie About the CS3 Interface
- Cropping Photos
- Cropping Using the "Rule of Thirds"
- Cropping to a Specific Size
- The Trick for Keeping the Same Aspect Ratio When You Crop
- Creating Your Own Custom Crop Tools
- Custom Sizes for Photographers
- Resizing Digital Camera Photos
- Resizing the Smart Way (Using Smart Objects)
- Automated Saving and Resizing
- Rule-Breaking Resizing for Poster-Sized Prints
- Making Your Photos Smaller (Downsizing)
- Straightening Crooked Photos
- Automated Cropping and Straightening
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Cropping Using the "Rule of Thirds"
The "rule of thirds" is a trick that photographers sometimes use to create more interesting compositions. Basically, you visually divide the image you see in your camera's viewfinder into thirds, and then you position your horizon so it goes along either the top imaginary horizontal line or the bottom one. Then, you position the subject (or focal point) at the center intersections of those lines. But if you didn't use the rule in the viewfinder, no sweat! You can use Photoshop to crop your image using the rule of thirds to create more appealing compositions.
Step One
Open the photo you want to apply the rule-of-thirds cropping technique to (the shot here is poorly composed, with the subject right in the center, and too much headroom above—it just screams "snapshot!"). So, start by creating a new blank layer by clicking on the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Step Two
Now, go to the Toolbox and get the Custom Shape tool (as shown here), or press Shift-U until you have it.
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Step Three
The Custom Shape tool's options will appear up in the Options Bar. First, click on the third icon from the left (so your shape will draw pixels, instead of a Shape layer or a path). Next, click on the downward-facing triangle to the immediate right of the current shape, and the Shape Picker will pop down (as shown here). In the default set of shapes there is a Grid shape, and that shape is already divided into equal thirds, so click on that shape to choose it.
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Step Four
You're going to need to see the exact size you want to crop down to, so go under the Window menu and choose Show Info. This brings up the Info panel (shown here), which displays the Width and Height for any shape you draw. So now take the Custom Shape tool and drag out a grid, and as you drag, keep an eye on the Info panel's Width and Height fields (our goal is to print a 13x19" print, so we're going to want our final grid size to be 13" wide by 19" tall). Now, start dragging (don't worry about positioning the grid right yet—just keep your eye on that Info panel, and your wrist steady, so you can drag out exactly a 13x19" grid. Also, don't worry about damaging your photo—that's why we created that new blank layer in Step One, so your grid will appear on this new layer).
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Step Five
Press the letter V to switch to the Move tool, and click-and-drag your rule-of-thirds grid into the position you'd like it (ideally, your subject, or point of interest, would appear at one of the four places within the grid where the lines intersect. I've marked all four here as a visual reminder).
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Step Six
Once the grid is positioned right where you want it, get the Rectangular Marquee tool (M) and click-and-drag out a selection that is the exact same size as the grid (as shown here).
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Step Seven
Now go under the Image menu and choose Crop (as shown here).
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Step Eight
When you choose Crop from that menu, it crops the photo based on your current selection, so basically it crops the photo down to the edges of your grid. Now, go to the Layers panel and drag Layer 1 (your grid layer) into the Trash (at the bottom of the Layers panel) to delete it. You can now see your final cropped photo—cropping using the rule of thirds. In the example shown here, I added my Three-Step Portrait Finishing Technique to sharpen the photo, soften the photo, and burn in the edges. You can find this technique in Chapter 10—the Special Effects for Photographers chapter.
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