Design How-To: Cropping Photos for Impact

Every designer at one point in time has to work with a lackluster image — a headshot of a company CEO, for example. You have to include it in your layout, but how to make it interesting?
Instead of using it full frame, try cropping it in unusual ways. With cropping you can emphasize expressive eyes or a dazzling smile. You can add drama to a layout by focusing attention on what makes a person interesting.

In this feature from Before & After Magazine, see how to think outside the box when cropping photographs.
We’ve posted this story as a PDF file. All you do is click this link “Crop Dramatically for Emphasis” to open the PDF file in your Web browser. You can also download the PDF to your machine for later viewing.
This story is taken from “Before & After” Magazine.

This article was last modified on May 1, 2025
This article was first published on January 23, 2003