Note

The tutorial below assumes that you're using the Background copy, as described above, for cropping.

Background copy

Background

By using the Background copy layer, the area around the cropped portion will be transparent.

Therefore, you can paste the cropped portion onto another photograph or colored background.

If you want a white background instead of transparent, use the Background layer instead.

Elliptical Marquee Tool

1) Select the Elliptical Marquee tool.

2) Set the Feather box to 35 px.

Feathering creates an edge that fades out by becoming increasingly transparent and lighter.

3) Click, hold, and drag to make the oval marquee.

Make a Circle

To make a circle instead of an oval, press and hold Shift, then click, hold, and drag the marquee.

From the Center

Press and hold Alt, to draw the marquee from the center, where you place the cursor, outward.

You can combine Alt with Shift to draw a circle from the center.

Mode

You can switch the Mode box from Normal to Fixed Aspect Ratio or Fixed Size.

Then, enter your values.

Check the Dimensions

Open the Info panel (Info palette) to see the exact dimensions of the marquee.

The dimensions (look for W and H), here, are set to pixels.

To change to inches from pixels, or vice versa, go to Preferences.

The oval marquee surrounds the trailer in the photograph below.

Move the Marquee

You can move the marquee back-and-forth, and up-and-down, by using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

Change the Size of the Marquee

The size of the marquee can't be changed once you release the mouse button.

However, you can alternate between positioning the marquee, and sizing the shape.

To do so, keep the mouse button depressed while:

• Pressing the space bar to be able to move the marquee.

• Releasing the space bar to go back to sizing the marquee.

Rotate the Marquee

Go to Image > Rotate > Free Rotate Selection.

Then, place the cursor in the area outside of the image.

The cursor will change to a curved two-sided arrow.

Click, hold, and drag.

The angle of the rotation is shown in the Info panel (Info palette), as well as in a box in the options bar.

Commit or Cancel

Click the black check mark, or press Enter, to commit the rotation.

To cancel, click the slashed circle, or press Esc.

Inverse

Next, the area outside the oval must be deleted.

4) Go to Select > Inverse, or press Shift + Ctrl + i.

The area outside the oval is now selected.

Compare the photograph below, in which the marching ants of the selection, are now marching along the edge of the photograph, unlike the photograph above.

If you're going to paste the oval selection onto another photograph, go to Paste onto Another Photograph below.

If you want to add color around the oval selection, such as a white border, go to Add a Border below.

Paste onto Another Photograph

If you're going to paste the oval selection onto another photograph, press Backspace, or press Ctrl + x to delete the area outside the oval.

Then, press Esc, or Ctrl + d, to deselect the selection.

Here's the oval photograph.

Go to Option #1 on the previous page, to learn how to paste your selection onto another photograph.

Add a Border

If you want to add a border around your selection, do the following.

1) The area outside your selection should still be selected, as you did this in step 4 above.

2) Select the color for your border.

White

If you want a white border, make sure the background color is white.

If you haven't already, go to Foreground & Background Colors.

Then, skip ahead to step 3 below.

Other Color

If you would like a different color, click the background color icon.

The Color Picker window will open.

Select a color from the Color Picker window.

Here, B0C4DE, Light Steel Blue, was entered in the # box in the Color Picker window.

Light Steel Blue is now the background color.

If you haven't already done so, go to Color Picking.

3) Go to Edit > Fill Selection, or press Ctrl + Backspace (or Delete).

The color you've chosen will fill the selected area around your oval photograph.

Saving the Photograph

If you haven't already done so, go to Saving Files.