Cropping Your Photos
Cropping Your Photos


Let's face it, scrapbooking is FUN! It's also very addicting, and we can find ourselves glued to our photos and supplies for hours on end! But, aside from all the different papers to choose from, and the different stickers and die-cuts to add to the page...there is something else every scrapbooker must decide:

To Crop Or Not To Crop...

A few tips and guidelines to help you along and get
you going in the right direction. These are only ideas I use,
and are not meant to replace your own, only to increase
your own imagination.

  1. Leave in items such as houses, cars, furniture, favorite toys, etc...that will someday be a reminder to you and to the "reader" of the past.

  2. Trim close to the focal point. This is the person, place or thing you are trying to focus on. Use straight or even pattern edged scissors.

  3. Are you unsure of a photo? Should I crop or not? If you aren't sure, try making a color copy (even for black and whites) and then crop the copy. Then your original is unharmed.

  4. Templates are great for making shapes out of your photos. Position the template on top of the focal point, and use a stabilo pencil to trace inside the template. Then cut with straight edged scissors.

  5. You can also do silhouettes, which are my personal favorite. This mean's cutting around your object or focal point. Cut along the edge of the person or object, removing the background. This is fun if you choose to implement your photos into a die cut or something of that nature.

  6. Bumping Out is a cool idea that I have yet to try. It involves only silouetting a portion of the picture while leaving the rest in tact. This works well with feet, or heads, or even hands.

  7. If you have a polaroid that you are interested in cropping, it can be done. DO NOT cut into the white envelope on the bottom or your picture will disappear! Let the photo dry completely (10-15 minutes after photo is taken) before cutting into the picture.

    I hope these ideas help, and that you feel a little more confident
    about cropping those photos. I still think that cropping can
    sometimes be one of the more intimidating aspects of scrapbooking!







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