Posted 08/25/2013 5:29 pm
Circular crop in Photoshop
Instructions
1
Open your image in Photoshop. Determine what area of the image you want included in your circle. Rename the background layer (the automatic layer) to "Layer 1" by double-clicking on the name and typing in "Layer 1."
2
Create a duplicate layer of your image. Select "Layer" and "Duplicate Layer." This will give you a layer called "Layer 1 copy." Work on this layer so that your original image is preserved.
(If you rename your cropped image, the original image will be saved anyway.)
3
Select the Elliptical Marquee tool from the left-hand toolbar. Press "Shift" while you pull the mouse over your photograph to draw a circle over the area you want to preserve. Pressing "Shift" will keep the circle perfectly round.
(This is tricky but here's the trick: start your selection at the point where a horizontal line drawn from the top of the coin intersects a vertical line drawn from the left side of the coin. This will give a circular selection the size of the coin. BUT, it won't be centered over the coin. Use your keyboard's left and right arrows to move your selection over the coin.)
4
With the circle area selected, press "Control" and "I" to invert the selection. Now the background of the photograph is selected, but the circle is not. Press "Delete" to remove the background and complete the circle crop.
