Easy Ways to Crop a Person Out of a Picture

Whether you want to cut an ex-girlfriend out of an otherwise great photo, or want to cut yourself out of a photo to use for a graphic, there are several ways to do it. Using Photoshop will result in a cleaner, more controlled crop, in which you can blur edges if you have cut the image too sharp, while using Microsoft Paint will allow you an easier crop with fewer modifications available.

This tutorial will work with most versions of Photoshop. This first method is simple for photos where the person you want cropped out of the photo is located on either side of the picture. Click the "Rectangular Marquee Tool" and select the amount of the photo that you want to keep. Once selected, click the "Image" tab at the top of the toolbars and click "Crop."

This method is for a more precise removal of an individual from a photo, perhaps for taking the person's photo and using it in another image or graphic. First, zoom in. Using the Navigator tab, zoom in on your photo to the person you want to crop out of it. Using the "Polygonal Lasso Tool" ("L" for hot-keys), begin carefully tracing the outline of the person. This will involve clicking the mouse at every curve to make sure your outline is as close to the person as possible. Once the person is completely selected, click "CTR+X" to cut the person out of the picture. The image will still be available in the paste option on your mouse (or by hitting "CTR+V").

Using the MS Paint program is an easier way to crop people out of photos. While it may not look as professional as other programs, it is easy and will get the job done. Select the picture that you want to crop. Once the file is opened, there are several ways you can go about cropping it. You can use the bottom right corner square tabs to pull the picture to be smaller. The more you drag the white box, the more of your picture you will cut out. Another, more precise method is to select the whole picture by clicking "CRTL+A" and drag the picture by clicking on it with your mouse and dragging it around the screen until the person you want is out of the photo. Click the "Select" tool and select only the portion of the photo that you want to keep. After you have selected the area, click the "Crop" button. You image is now cropped. Don't forget to save it.

There are also many free programs online designed to help you crop your photo. Websites such as Online Photo Maker, Web Resizer and Pixenate are designed so that you can upload your photo, readjust the sizes and use the cropping tool to get your desired result.