First, there are probably hundreds of tools available for cropping. Many of them are free. A good source for free tools is www.download.com. Search for tools with "Free" licenses. Tools that are "Free to Try" may only work for a short trial period. Many printers and most digital cameras come with software that will provide adequate cropping tools. Another excellent free tool for viewing and cropping is IrfanView available at www.irfanview.com. One very important fact to understand when modifying JPG files is that each time the file is saved, it is performing the designated file compression and therefore, slightly decreases the quality of the photo. So, the goal is to make all of your edits during one session and only save the file once. Save it to a different name so that the original is still available if needed.

Cropping Example

First, you must download the original file, otherwise, you are starting from a file that is already compressed in the X and Y directions.  So, why crop?  You may want to isolate a subject as in this example.  You may want to change the 3 by 2 aspect ratio of the original to print on 7 by 5 or 8 by 10 inch paper.

This "original" file is posted at 3008 x 2000 pixels.

This photo has been cropped to 1200 x 1800 pixels.

Printing

Commercial print labs print at 300 dots per inch (dpi) resolution. So, this crop can be printed on a 6 x 4 inch sheet with no loss in quality. In fact, depending upon the software used, excellent prints can be made at 200 dpi. So, the above cropped photo could be successfully printed as large as 9 x 6 inches.

For larger than 15" x 10" prints, contact me. I have access to upsizing software that can do amazing large sizes. There are numerous online printing services available.