What Is the Crop Tool?
The Crop Tool is an essential photo editing feature that allows you to remove unwanted parts of an image and adjust its framing. Cropping helps highlight the main subject, improve composition, and prepare photos for specific formats or platforms.
Simply put, the Crop Tool lets you decide what stays in the photo and what gets removed.
When Should You Use the Crop Tool?
Use the Crop Tool when you want to:
- Remove distracting or unnecessary elements
- Improve photo composition and balance
- Adjust image size for social media or websites
- Prepare photos for standard aspect ratios
Cropping is best done before applying filters or advanced edits, as it defines the final layout of the image.
How to Use the Crop Tool (Step by Step)
1. Choose a Preset or Create a Custom Crop
You can crop your photo in two ways:
- Preset aspect ratios – Select ready-made formats such as 1:1, 4:5, or 16:9. These are ideal for social media platforms.
- Custom crop – Manually adjust the crop area if presets do not fit your needs.
Use the green control points on the image corners or edges to create your own custom crop.
GIF: Preset selection and custom crop using control points
2. Rotate the Image
The Rotate button rotates the image by 90 degrees with each tap.
This is useful if the photo was taken in the wrong orientation or if you want to switch between portrait and landscape.
GIF: Rotating an image using the rotate button
3. Flip the Image Horizontally or Vertically
The Crop Tool also allows you to flip the image:
- Horizontal flip – Mirrors the image from left to right
- Vertical flip – Flips the image upside down
Flipping is helpful for correcting mirrored photos or achieving a specific visual effect.
GIF: Horizontal and vertical flip buttons in action
Tips for Better Cropping Results
- Use preset ratios for social media platforms
- Keep the main subject clearly visible
- Avoid cropping too tightly unless necessary
- Rotate the image before finalizing the crop
Common Cropping Mistakes
- Applying heavy edits before cropping
- Cutting off important parts of the subject
- Ignoring platform-specific aspect ratios
- Using flip options without a clear purpose
Crop Tool FAQ
Can I create my own aspect ratio?
Yes. You can manually adjust the crop area using control points to create a custom size.
Does cropping reduce image quality?
Cropping removes parts of the image but keeps the remaining area at full quality.
Which aspect ratio is best for Instagram?
The most common options are 1:1 for posts and 4:5 for vertical images.
Crop Tool in Pichype
The Crop Tool is available directly inside the Pichype photo editing app.
It allows you to resize, rotate, flip, and prepare photos for social media or everyday use through a clean and intuitive interface.
This guide explains how the Crop Tool works and how to use it effectively in the Pichype app.