CONTENT AWARE CROP

[Richard Crowe]

It is always nice to learn new techniques which will save me time and make my work easier.

I shoot all of my rescue dog portraits in the landscape configuration because I often need to process them as a calendar and need a horizontally composed image. I also need the images in a square format to post on our website and to post on various rescue websites. However, when filling my frame decently with a dog or a puppy, it is impossible to crop it into a square image without adding pixels at the top and bottom.  The way I have always done this is to add a border of the same color as the background of the image...

However this would not match the texture of the background...

I would use the Clone Stamp Tool to replicate that texture...

It worked just fine but, that was labor and time intensive - and I have a lot of rescue portraits to process.

I learned a new way to work with this on YouTube...

Here is an original image - framed for a calendar shot and needing only a slight crop for my calendar (note - I just picked this image at random and don't intend to add it to my calendar).

However for my rescue postings and on my rescue web site - I need a square image. Cropping as a square cannot include the whole puppy...

In order to include the whole puppy, I need to extend the top and bottom of the image. But that would leave a white border at top and at bottom...

Unless I put a check in the Content Aware Box, selecting that function...

If the Content Aware Box is selected, just select crop from the menu and Photoshop will add the pixels needed.

Of course, this is adding a very plain area with no great detail. Photoshop can do a pretty darn good job of formulating pixels when there is some complicated information to be gained. This can be used when you are straightening a horizon so that you don't need to clip off areas around the edges of the image. Of course, this is not magic and Photoshop may have problems adding complicated information. However, in my case, this is going to save me lots of time with my rescue images.

Here is the YouTube video from which I learned this technique...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqwf-3Wux0g

[DJ & Chance]

Thanks, Richard.  I didn't know about that new feature in the crop tool--really useful!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Great information, thanks.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Great information!