Shutterstock Editor Image Cropping

Everyone creating web content understands the importance of visuals. Images, like any other form of communication, break up text monotony and add emphasis to key sections.

Content creators on stock sites handle a huge volume of assets daily, and default software isn’t always the best option for quick edits.

What’s needed is a simple, fast way to prep images for social media, blogs, and newsletters. That’s where Shutterstock Editor comes in – a simple yet powerful tool that lets you edit images before downloading them.

Read today’s guide to learn how to apply core design principles in Shutterstock Editor – then try the tool yourself!

Shutterstock Editor Overview

Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a foundational guide for visual composition. It states that if you overlay a 3×3 grid, key elements should align with the grid rather than sit between its lines.

Simply put, design elements usually look better slightly off-center rather than stuck in the “dead zone” right in the middle.

For example, this Annette Shaff photo has all the ingredients for a great Instagram post (vintage car, vintage filter, cute dog). Using the Post crop template, it’s easy to tweak settings to fit Instagram better.

Following the rule of thirds, imagine a 3×3 grid and drag the image so the key element aligns with it.

Now the dog sits slightly left of center, creating a more balanced composition.

Headroom and Lead Room

Headroom and lead room are essential for strong photos. Headroom is the vertical space between the top of the image and the subject’s head. Typically, the main subject should sit about ⅓ down from the top edge.

Lead room refers to the horizontal space in front of a stationary or moving subject – the direction they face or move toward.

For instance, if a bear faces left, there should be more empty space on the left than on the right.

Adjusting headroom and lead room is easy with cropping – it’s all about precise vertical and horizontal trims.

In this photo by David Rasmus, both bears are centered. Since their heads turn left, any adjustments should leave more free space on the left side.

Change lead room by choosing the desired crop and dragging the image so there’s enough space in the direction the subject points. With a Facebook image template, dragging the photo right leaves adequate lead room for these bears.

You can refine headroom using the zoom slider under the image – zooming in or out helps you nail the ideal headroom.

Rule of Three

Similar to the rule of thirds, the rule of three suggests that identical objects grouped in threes (or any odd number) feel more visually appealing than even-numbered groups. While even-numbered sets can be balanced, groups of three create pleasing asymmetry.

By the way, perfect symmetry can sometimes feel unsettling – odd counts often help achieve a more harmonious look.

You can easily create balance using the rule of three by cropping away extras and leaving an odd number of objects.

This works especially well with simple images like isolated items – think food photography or this shot by Thaiview.

If you want to crop without using social templates, simply enter custom dimensions.

Click “Set Custom Size” to see the original dimensions, then enter your own – you can even save custom sizes for later use.

The original size here is 3872 by 1922 pixels. Changing it to 3200×1922 crops out the fourth oil rig, bringing the composition in line with the rule of three.

Space

In design, space is the distance between and around objects; it’s a crucial compositional element in photography. Positive space is occupied by subjects; negative space is the open area without design elements.

Used well, negative space emphasizes positive space, guiding attention to key elements in the design.

The Shutterstock Editor crop tools let you manage positive and negative space by subtracting from the overall frame. Depending on the image, you can remove design elements to create a minimalist shot with more negative space, or trim negative space to focus on positive elements.

This image by Vitalii Bashkatov is a great candidate for tweaks not only because it features Pantone’s Colors of the Year, but also because it offers ample negative space contrasted with bold areas of positive space.

Here, the Facebook template crop is enlarged to remove the mountains in the background. By trimming positive space, the negative space expands, creating a sense of boundlessness.

Using a Pinterest template, you can crop out more negative space while grouping the key elements into one composition – keeping both the paraglider and the misty mountains below.

Cropping is a powerful way to control framing, composition, balance, and space with just a few clicks and drags. Small adjustments can deliver big results – not only in your visuals but also in the time and effort required to prepare them for use.

Social media managers, content creators, journalists, and bloggers can streamline their workflow with Shutterstock Editor, freeing up time to produce original content.

original article: shutterstock.com/blog/compose-beautiful-images-shutterstock-editor

This article is available in the following categories: About Microstocks, Shutterstock