Editing Cropping (image) (section)

== In photography, print, and design ==
[[File:vinepyrennees.jpg|thumb|right|Wide view, uncropped photograph]]
[[File:vinepyrennees crop.jpg|thumb|right|Cropped version, accentuating the subject]]
In the printing, graphic design and photography industries, cropping is the removal of unwanted areas from the periphery of a photographic or illustrated [[image]]. Cropping is one of the most basic [[photo manipulation]] processes, and it is carried out to remove an unwanted object or irrelevant noise from the periphery of a [[photograph]], change its aspect ratio, or improve the overall [[Composition (visual arts)|composition]].

In telephoto photography, most commonly in avian and [[aviation photography]], an image is cropped to magnify the primary subject and further reduce the [[angle of view]]. When a lens of sufficient focal length to achieve the desired magnification directly is not available. It is considered one of the few editing actions permissible in modern [[photojournalism]] along with tonal balance, color correction and [[unsharp masking|sharpening]]. A cropping made by trimming off the top and bottom margins of a photograph, or a film, produces a view that mimics the [[panoramic photography|panoramic]] format (in photography) or the [[widescreen]] format in [[cinematography]] and [[broadcasting]]. Neither of these formats is cropped as such, but rather they are products of highly specialized optical configurations and camera designs.

=== Graphic examples (photography) ===
'''[[Cropping system|Cropping]] in order to emphasize the subject:'''
<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="2">
File:Calanit004.jpg|Cropped image of [[Anemone coronaria]], aspect ratio 1.065, in which the flower fills most of the frame
File:Kalanit01.jpg|The original photo, aspect ratio 1.333, in which the flower uses only a small part of the frame
</gallery>

'''Cropping in order to remove unwanted details/objects:'''
<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="2">
File:Chartzit001.JPG|Cropped image of [[Garland chrysanthemum]], aspect ratio 1.081
File:Teva 17 3 (64).JPG|The original photo,  aspect ratio 1.333, the lower right part shows some white-colored trash and the upper right shows a dead flower, and both are unwanted objects.
</gallery>

===Crop marks===
[[File:Cropped card.jpg|thumb|Visiting card before and after cropping.]]
To assist in precise cropping of a printed image, crop marks may be printed at the four corners of the image, just outside the central area to be retained: &thinsp;{{large|⌏}}&thinsp; at the top left corner, &thinsp;{{large|⌎}}&thinsp; at the top right corner, &thinsp;{{large|⌍}}&thinsp; at the bottom left corner, and &thinsp;{{large|⌌}}&thinsp; at the bottom right corner. The paper or paperboard on which the image is printed can then be cut on each side so that the crop marks are removed.

In Unicode, the crop marks are represented by:
* {{unichar|230F|Top Left Crop}}
* {{unichar|230E|Top Right Crop}}
* {{unichar|230D|Bottom Left Crop}}
* {{unichar|230C|Bottom Right Crop}}

Crop marks are useful for cropping images printed with [[bleed (printing)|bleed]], and more generally, when the position of an image on the final sheet is not precisely known in advance.