THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU’LL EVER DO TO A PHOTO
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Preserve the shape
Drag the crop handles to change the shape of the crop.
To keep it the same shape as the original photo, click
the Ratio drop-down menu and choose Use Photo Ratio.
You can now drag the corner handles to crop the shot while
automatically preserving the shape of the original image.1
Crop in Organizer
Cropping is such a common photo-fixing task that
Photoshop Elements enables you to perform it in the
Organizer. Double click ty_elements04.jpg to make the shot
fill the screen. Click the Instant Fix icon, then click the Crop
icon in the Photo Fix Options panel.4
Crop and resize
Click the Crop tool in the Toolbox. In the Tool
Options, set the drop-down menu to 8x10 inches.
Choose an overlay such as the Rule of Thirds Grid. Click the
arrows between W and H to swap width and height. Make the
intersecting grid overlap the cow and click the tick.3
Apply the crop
Click Done to apply the crop. The cropped version of
the photo will appear alongside the original image in a
version set stack, so the original image is intact. You can also
crop images in other modes. Click the original thumbnail and
go to Edit>Edit with Photoshop Elements Editor.6
Selective squash
In the Tool Options, click the Mark for Protection
box, then scribble a rough brush stroke on each flower
head. Drag the transform handle downwards to push the
heads closer together. This time the flower heads retain their
correct proportions, while the background is squashed.5
Squash it
Go to File>Open and browse to ty_elements06.jpg. You
could recompose this shot by choosing Image>
Transform>Free Transform. You could then drag the handle
down to make the flower heads closer. However, this squashes
them. Click Cancel, then select the Recompose tool.