Can Lightroom crop to an exact print or screen size, or only to an aspect ratio?
Asked 12/23/2012
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I’m comfortable using Lightroom for organizing and editing, but I find precise cropping easier in Photoshop Elements because I can set an exact size and aspect ratio and drag the crop onto the image. In Lightroom I can use the Crop tool, but I’m not sure whether I’m missing a way to crop to exact dimensions for printing or screen output. Does Lightroom support exact-size cropping, or do you crop to an aspect ratio in Lightroom and set the final dimensions when exporting?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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Lightroom gives some good cropping tools, IMO. Press "R" or go to the Develop module and click the crop tool below the histogram (though it sounds like you know that part).
To set the aspect ratio, in the Crop & Straighten tool area is an "Aspect" row, and from a drop-down you can select predefined aspect ratios, create a custom aspect ratio, or just freely crop it without restriction.
You can't crop to a size in Lightroom. When exporting you can specify the size of the image. So: crop to the aspect ratio you want (or to the width/height you want), then when exporting just be sure to enter the size you want to export the image at.
Originally by user8473. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user8473
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Lightroom’s Crop tool is mainly for composition and aspect ratio, not fixed output size in the same way as Photoshop Elements. In Develop, press R to open Crop, then use the Aspect menu to choose a preset ratio, make a custom ratio, or crop freely.
For an exact final image size, the usual Lightroom workflow is:
- Crop to the aspect ratio you want.
- Set the exported pixel dimensions when you export.
In Lightroom Classic and older Lightroom versions, you can also get very close to a target pixel crop by displaying cropped dimensions in the Loupe Info overlay. Enable it in Library > View > View Options, then in Develop press i to show that overlay while cropping. As you resize the crop, Lightroom shows the cropped pixel dimensions so you can adjust the crop to match your target as closely as possible.
So yes: Lightroom has strong cropping tools, but exact output dimensions are typically controlled at export rather than by the crop tool itself.
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