Looking for a tool that will allow you to shrink large stock photos or resize pictures taken from your digital camera? Does your website require a specific width and height for your photos? Or, would you just prefer them to be the same to make it look more professional? This tutorial will show you how to easily crop and resize pictures to the exact dimensions you need for your website using an online photo editor called Picmonkey.
Crop and Resize Pictures using Picmonkey
Resizing and cropping your own pictures often times seems beyond the reach of the average business person. But, the truth is that you don’t have to call your graphic designer every time you shoot a new photo and want to put it on your website. There are FREE tools available that you can use to make basic edits to your pictures. This tutorial is specifically for photos that are:
- too large, AND
- the wrong dimensions/proportion
In this tutorial we are going to resize & crop a large photo to the size of 500 pixels wide by 333 pixels tall (500 x 333)
Go To PicMonkey.com
- On the Picmonkey homepage click EDIT
- When the Edit options appear on the screen, choose Computer.
- Select the picture you need to crop and resize by browsing your computer
- Once your picture is selected you’ll be taken to the PicMonkey Editor.
Resize the Photo
- Click Resize in the menu on the left and some options will pop up.
- Check the “Keep Proportions” checkbox (it should aready be checked).
- In the “Change size to:” boxes type 500 in the first box, but make sure that the second box is not smaller than 333.
- If it is, type 333 into the second box and let the first dimension calculate to what it should be
- Click the Apply Button
Crop the Picture
- Click Crop in the menu on the left and some options will pop up
- Type in 500 and 333 in the “Actual size:” boxes
- If you look at your picture you’ll see the cropping box framing new dimensions on your picture. You can move this cropping box around by clicking and dragging to select the desired cropping result for your picture.
- Once you are happy, click the Apply button
Save Your Cropped and Resized Pictures
- At the top, click “Save”
- A screen will appear so you can save your picture. In the File name box type in a descriptive name, like sistersinclass_500x333. Then choose JPG or PNG from the menu. JPG is the best option unless your photo has transparent areas in it.
- Choose “Pierce” for the Quality.
- Click “Save to My Computer”
Wrapping Up
Congratulations, you are now a pro at how to crop and resize pictures in Picmonkey. It wasn’t so bad, was it? Shrinking and adjusting your picture dimensions can be free and easy to do. Not only that,
PicMonkey has other tools that can manipulate and enhance your picture. Use tools to rotate your picture, sharpen it, or even adjust the exposure and color balance. You may want to proceed with caution with some of these options though. Even though they are there, it’s important to use them sparingly. Too much of any of these can make your pictures look fake and processed, which isn’t very professional. Always consult with a designer if your pictures need serious retouching.
For your pinning pleasure…

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