If you’ve ever been given a full-size image from a photographer you probably discovered that the size of the photo was very large. If you tried to upload the same photo to your favorite social media app or website, it probably failed because it was too big. You’ll need some photo editing skills to resize it so it can be shared more easily.
Editing photos is an essential skill in today’s digital world, whether you’re updating social media profiles, enhancing your blog content, or organizing your digital photo album. The Windows Photos app is a powerful and user-friendly tool that can help you easily crop and resize your photos. This guide will walk you through the process. Note, the Windows Photos App should be available on the Windows 10 and 11 versions of the Windows operating system, no Apple options are included in this article.
Step 1: Open Your Photo
Locate the Photo: Find the photo you want to edit in File Explorer.
Open with Photos: Right-click the photo and select Open with > Photos.
Your photo should now be open in the Windows Photos app.
Step 2: Cropping Your Photo
Enter Edit Mode: Once your photo is open, click on the edit image button which is the far left icon on the top row of clickable items.
Select Crop from the top menu and you may have to click the bottom of the screen to view more cropping options.
In this case, the “Free” option at the bottom means I can crop this image free of predefined aspect ratios. Clicking the “Free” button will show you all the cropping options available. I tend to like an 8×10 aspect ratio, which is the same as the 4×5 option.
Adjust the Image and Crop Box: Click and drag the corners or edges of the cropping box to select the part of the photo you want to keep. You can also drag the image around inside the box to get the photo to look the way you want it to.
Apply the Crop: After adjusting, click the “Save options” button in the upper right. It’s always a good idea to choose “Save as copy” so you do not overwrite the original file.
Step 3: Resizing Your Photo
Enter Resize Mode: With your photo still open in the Photos app, click on the ellipsis button at the top right row of buttons, then click “Resize image”
This will open up a small resizing window where you can make your adjustments and see in real time the difference in size it makes when you change the pixel dimensions. The aspect ratio you chose earlier when cropping the image will be maintained.
You will also see that you can choose from a few different file types to save the file image. Once done with your adjustments just click the Save button.
This was by no means a full class on resizing images, but I do hope it helps if you are in a time crunch and need to scale down a very large image to something you can more easily share to social media or send in to your employer!
Enjoy!
