How to Crop Photos & Elements in Canva

Among all the photo software or platforms on the internet, the most popular among them would be Canva.

That isn’t surprising at all as Canva’s not only user-friendly; it also hosts a ton of tools you can use however you want them. 

But, among the tools found on the app, the most popular one would be the crop feature. 

As everyone knows, cropping means discarding some parts of the photo that you don’t want to use. And, by using Canva, you can achieve this in many ways.

So, how do you exactly go about with the photo-cropping thing? Well, you’ll need to continue reading the article below for you to find out.

 

How to crop photos and elements in Canva?

Now, cropping in Canva is as easy as 1-2-3. You can activate this feature in three different ways. If you want the longer route, click on the photo you’d like to use, drag it into your project and then drag on the white bars on the sides of the image to your desired size. For the shortcut method, you can double-click on the picture until a grid box appears. You then drag the corners of the box to adjust the photo’s size further. Lastly, if you plan to crop a Canva element, search the “Crop” option that appears once you drag the element onto the Canva project. 

 

The Step-by-Step Guide On How To Crop In Canva

As mentioned earlier, you don’t need to worry much about cropping a photo in Canva as it already provides the tools you’ll need. You only need to discover how to activate those features and use them to your advantage.

So, here’s how to crop a photo in Canva:

1)  Drag and drop any picture you’d like to use on the project template. You can choose to use a stock Canva photo from the “Photos” tab or use personal photos through the “Uploads” option.

2)  Once the photo’s on the template, click the white circles that appear on the sides of the image and adjust the size accordingly. Click outside of the picture to check the finished image.

3)  If, however, you’re not satisfied yet, double-click anywhere on the image until a box with crop marks appears. 

4)  Like the first option, click and drag from the white-colored crop marks surrounding the image until you reach the desired size. 

5) If you’re satisfied with the effect, click “Done” on the taskbar above the template.

 

6) But, if you don’t want to double-click on the picture, click the “Crop” tab on the taskbar. Proceed with the same steps as mentioned earlier and click on “Done” when finished cropping.

 

Can you crop elements in Canva?

What if you don’t want to use the images from either your uploads or the photo gallery in Canva? 

Well, you have the option to use Elements instead.

Just like in images, you can crop a specific part of the element you chose.

If this is your first time to know this, then you’re in for the ride. Let’s expound more on this point.

Typically, an element works like a photo, except that it’s premade by Canva. But, while Canva already did these elements, you can still crop them however you want them to.

So, to start, simply choose an element you’d like to use from the “Elements” tab on the left-side corner of the screen. 

Once you’ve chosen the element you’d like to use, drag it on the project template. But, unlike in cropping pictures, the white crop marks or bars at the sides won’t appear readily.

But, as reiterated countless times already, don’t fret about this.

Remember the crop option you can find on the white taskbar above the project template? You can click on that tab, and the same grid box with the white crop marks will appear.

And, just like cropping images, you can click and drag the crop marks until you reach the desired size or part of the element that you’d like to keep. Once achieved, click on “Done” to save the changes you’ve made.

But, if you still want to make further changes with your newly-cropped photo, double-click on the image to make the grid box appear and proceed with trimming it further.

However, there’s a catch here. 

You can’t crop GIFs and embeds on Canva like images and other still-picture elements on it.

 

Are there other ways you can crop on Canva?

Absolutely yes! 

Unlike other photo editing tools (with no intent to generalize), Canva’s got plenty of options you can use for simply cropping an image.

 

Use background remover effect

Take this for example. You want the foreground image of the photo, but you don’t like to use its background. 

On other editing tools, you’ll need to use a “knife” tool to isolate the foreground from the entire photo. 

But, thanks to Canva, you don’t have to suffer that arduous process of tracing the image itself. 

All you need to do is drag the picture from the Photos gallery onto the template and click on it until a white taskbar appears on top of the template. 

After which, look for the “Effects” tab on the white taskbar. From the effects that will appear on the left-sided dropdown menu, click on the “Background Remover” option. 

Then, wait for Canva to finish the entire process of removing the background. However, as nifty as this hack is, this effect’s only available for Canva Pro users.

So, if you’re still using a free account in Canva, you won’t find this option available. But, you can visit Remove.bg to achieve the same effect. 

Once you’re done removing the background using the third-party website, upload the new image on Canva through the “Uploads” tab and use it on the template.

And, wallah! You already have a polished crop of the foreground.

 

Maximize frame options

What if you want your photo-cropping to have a fun element to it? Can you achieve that effect in Canva?

Well, it’s definitely a yes on this! If you don’t want the simple rectangular or square-cut shape, take advantage of the frames in the app.

First, simply head over to the left-side menu on the screen and click “Elements.” Then, search for the “Frames” option.

Once you’re there, you’ll have a lot of fun shapes that you can choose from to use in your project. From the conventional four-corner frames to the more artful ones, you have unlimited choices available within a click of your mouse.

After choosing the frame you’d like to use, click and drag it towards your template. 

From there, add any photo of your choice onto the frame by dragging the image there. Canva will then crop the picture according to the frame shape.

Simple, right?

But, if you want a more fun way of cropping photos in Canva, check out the third tip below.

 

Work with grids

If you want to use several photos at once in a single template, you’ll definitely love cropping pictures with the grid option in Canva.

But, don’t get me wrong on this. The grids we’re talking about here aren’t like the grid boxes mentioned earlier in simple image cropping.

Think of this grid tool in Canva like a photo collage. 

To use this feature, simply find the search pane and type “Grids” on it. It might take a few seconds to come out, but you can choose from many grid layouts available once the loading’s done.

After choosing the grid layout you want to work with, drag the photos you’ll use into the blank grid boxes. Right then and there, Canva will do the cropping for you.

You can make a few tweaks to the photo you’ve cropped if you feel the need to. Just double click on it and do drag the image whichever way you want to.

So, are you now ready to activate your creative side with Canva’s crop tool? If you are, then start applying all the things you’ve learned here on your project now.