Do your photographs lose their center after being cropped in Photoshop? This little instructional explains why it occurs and how simple a cure it is. Whether it be Photoshop 2022 or a more current version.
Does Photoshop not center your image after cropping it? Is the cropped picture moving to the screen’s corner rather than remaining in the middle as it should? I demonstrate when it occurs, why it occurs, and how to repair it in this lesson.
Photoshop 2022 is the version I’m using, but this repair works with any current version. The most recent Photoshop version is available here.
I’ll also make use of this photo from Adobe Stock.
A picture that has to be cropped.
The issue: After cropping, Photoshop does not center the photos.
Let’s quickly review the issue and the instances in which it will arise. You may crop a picture in Photoshop in a number different ways, and depending on the method you choose, you might not encounter this issue. Here are three instances in which you will for sure.
Example 1: Using the rectangular marquee tool to crop.
The Crop Tool, which we’ll discuss again shortly, is the recognized method for cropping a picture in Photoshop. But many individuals discover that using the Rectangular Marquee Tool makes it simpler to crop pictures.
The Rectangular Marquee Tool will thus be chosen from the toolbar.
The Rectangular Marquee Tool is chosen.
The area of the photograph I wish to preserve will then be enclosed by a selection outline that I drag out.
A rectangular selection outline is drawn.
I’ll navigate to the Image option in the Menu Bar and choose Crop to resize the image.
Selecting Image > Crop.
Photoshop, however, puts the cropped image into the upper left corner of the screen rather than centering it. I would have to use the Hand Tool to manually pull the image back into the center in order to recenter it.
After being cropped with the Rectangular Marquee Tool, the picture is not in the center.
Example 2: Using the Crop Tool in Classic Mode to crop an image
If you use the Crop Tool in Classic Mode while cropping photos, the same thing takes place.
From the toolbar, I’ll choose the Crop Tool.
Choosing a crop tool.
I’ll then click the gear icon in the Options Bar and choose Use Classic Mode.
The Crop Tool’s Classic Mode being activated.
I’ll apply a cropping border to a specific area of the picture.
Dragging a crop’s edge.
I’ll then choose the checkbox in the Options Bar to crop it.
Marking it with a checkmark.
Photoshop once more places the cropped image in the screen’s upper left corner.
After being cropped using the Crop Tool’s Classic Mode, the picture is not in the center.
Example 3: Reversing a crop that was made using the crop tool
If you undo your crop, the issue will persist even if the Crop Tool is not in Classic Mode, which is by default set off.
I’ll keep the Crop Tool selected while disabling Classic Mode in the Options Bar.
Crop Tool Classic Mode is disabled.
I’ll then use the Crop Tool to crop the picture. Additionally, the cropped image is correctly centered when Classic Mode is disabled.
After using the Crop Tool to crop the image, it is then centered.
But if you decide otherwise, you can undo the crop by selecting Undo Crop from the Edit menu:
Selecting Edit > Undo Crop
Photoshop fixes the original image, however it is still centered incorrectly.
After reversing the crop, the picture is no longer in the middle.
why after cropping, photos are not centered
Why, therefore, did Photoshop in these cases not center the image after cropping it? The Overscroll function is the cause of this.
Even after you have already zoomed out to the point where you can see the complete image, Overscroll allows you to move an image around on your screen. If you can move that portion of the image towards the middle of your screen, you could still find it simpler to check various sections or work on a region that is in a corner or along a side.
In my comprehensive How to Zoom Images in Photoshop lesson, I go through Overscroll in more detail.
The fix is to deactivate Overscroll.
The overscroll feature is always active. Turning Off Overscroll will solve the issue of Photoshop not centering photos after cropping them, but, if it’s a feature you don’t care about. And this is the procedure.
Go to the Edit menu on a Windows computer (I’m using one of those). Navigate to the Photoshop menu on a Mac.
Access Edit (Windows) / Photoshop (Mac).
Select Tools and then Preferences from there.
Selecting Tools > Preferences.
To disable it, locate the Overscroll option in the Preferences dialog box and uncheck it. After accepting it, click OK to exit the dialog window.
By deselecting the Overscroll checkbox.
All there is to it is that! The cropped picture will stay in the middle of your screen the next time you crop an image using the Rectangular Marquee Tool or the Crop Tool in Classic Mode.
With Overscroll disabled, the cropped picture stays in its original position.
