Begin with the placement
A square 1:1 crop fits many avatars and grids. A 4:5 portrait fills more vertical space in feeds. A 16:9 landscape crop suits wide banners and video thumbnails. The platform or design template should decide the ratio.
Check whether the subject fits
A wide group photo may not survive a square crop, while a standing portrait can feel tiny in 16:9. Leave space around faces, text, and products. If the subject cannot fit, choose another source rather than forcing the crop.
Ratio and pixels are separate
1200×1200 and 400×400 are both 1:1, but they contain different detail. Crop for composition, then resize to the required pixel dimensions. Keep a larger master crop if the image will appear in several sizes.
Frame the image
Open Image Cropper →