Cropping / trimming existing photos

Placing a blank piece of paper to cover the sides of a photo can give you some idea of what the photo will look like after parts have been cropped / trimmed / cut off. The final photo should be a nice rectangle or square photo that has the subject of the photo about one third up the photo. Very tall and narrow photos or very long and short photos should be used sparingly. A panoramic photo can be trimmed to 8 1/2 x 4 to create a page border.

To crop / trim a photo, position it against the top of the paper cutter / trimmer to trim a thin slice off the selected side with the blade. Reposition and take thin slices off any other sides. Taking several thin slices gives you more ability to adjust your result.

While arranging the photos on their page, some additional trims can be made.

It is very easy to get too enthusiastic about cropping photos and take out too much background, chop off an important person or item, or make the photo too small. It's essential to enjoy cropping, but not get carried away.