Before&After Design Tip: Crop out the Dead Stuff

Learn the first rule of photo cropping

Here’s a quick design tip on working with photos from issue 43 of Before&After Magazine.

Who are those strangers? Photos taken in real life almost always contain stuff you don’t want, like the backs of distant strangers in a vacant air terminal.

The first rule of photo cropping is to get rid of everything that doesn’t contribute to the composition.

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© John McWade/Before&After Magazine, courtesy of Gaye Anne McWade.

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This article was last modified on January 3, 2026

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