Unwanted default to 'constrain aspect ratio' of crops

Lightroom 2.6 Mac.
Recently I've been annoyed that when I come to crop images the program defaults to 'constrain aspect ratio' which I don't usually want. It's easy enough to press the 'a' key toggle to unset this but when I come to crop the next image it usually (but not always) resets to constrain again.
This is a new problem and I can't think of any obvious reason or way to fix it. Any ideas?

In the develop module, I made sure the constrain aspect ratio was unlocked and then double-clicked on the words next to the lock to get the menu of choices, I chose "original" which has kept the crop free to choose crops with no constraint.

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How to keep original aspect ratio when cropping in Camera Raw?

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The Shift key works once you’ve set your crop ratio. DSLRs would typically do 2:3 and others sometimes do 3:4.

Change default 4:3 aspect ratio?

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Yes it will.
When you click on the Crop button untick the Constrain box or select 'Square'
Regards
TD

FCPX DVD of 4:3 Aspect Ratio Project Cropped on Widescreen TV

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The Video Properties indicate NTSC SD format. However, I noticed that that gives me 720X480 resolution. Perhaps that's the problem.
OK, I just experimented and when I choose "Other" under video properties format, then I get the correct 640X480 resolution. Let me try another DVD burn with this change, and report back whether that corrects the issue. Thanks for pointing me to double check that.

Changing pixel aspect ratio during cropping (LR3.2)

When I crop sometimes the pixel aspect ratio changes here. I.e. the pic get stretched in horizontal or vertical way/or compressed. Any body seeing this also? After some time it does change to normal, but it makes cropping rather difficult when in a hurry.

I'm not sure I understand your problem, but I think what bothers you is the technique that has been in place in LR2 already for switching between landscape and potrait format of the crop, which in LR3 can be acomplished by the X keyboard shortcut.
Moving your mouse horizontally or vertically on a locked aspect ratio, the format will change from portrait to landscape or vice versa. To enlarge or diminish the size of the crop, you have to move the mouse diagonally.
Beat Gossweiler
Switzerland

Setting Aspect Ratio when cropping to A3

Hey folks being new to Lightroom 5.6 I'm probably doing something stupid and I am sure there is an easy solution; I just don't know what it is..
I have 23 RAW images in my LR Catalogue that I wish to crop, but I also know that I will be saving them as A3 JPGS at 300ppi. So the first thing I did was go into the Print module and select my Canon Pixma Pro printer so that I can then select a paper size of A3. In the print module, each image then displays A3 on the left hand side of the main preview window. So good job, that bit is successful.
So now I need to crop the images. I had previously tried cropping them to A4 and therefore had typed 8.27x11.69 into the Custom Aspect Ratio setting (yes I know we're talking inches here.... LOL). Well I then reset all the images so that their Aspect Ratio is set to "As Shot" and when I select done, the little crop box in the previews along the bottom of the screen disappears.... Still with me? Oh I hope so
So now the images are back to their original size as if they were straight off the camera, I selected all 23 images and pressed 'R' to enter the crop function. Under the Aspect Ratio, I selected "Enter Custom" and tried entering both 297x420 (mm) and also 11.7x16.5 (inches). On entering each of these ratios, whenever I select <OK>, the Ratio always reverts back to 8.27x11.69, as in A4, which was a custom ratio in the first place!!!!
Any help on how I can set the Ratio correctly for A3 so that i can actually start doing some cropping would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks....
Lewis

Sean what a wombat!!!! (Me that is, not you..... LOL)
Of course, A3 is two sheets of A4, That would explain why Lightroom kept showing 8.27x11.69.
Many thanks for answering what is really common sense when one thinks about it. Sorry to have wasted peoples time, but thanks once again.
Lewis

Aspect ratio and cropping

I need to crop some portraits to 5x7" and 6x8". Im a bit confused as to the presets for the crop tool. I presume that the numbers refer to aspect ratio rather than actual units of measurement? if so, which aspect ratio should I use?
Thanks in advance

All the presets are listed as ratios.
So on the preset labeled "4 x 5 (8 x 10)" Aperture is simply trying to help since 8x10 is a standard print size, but is also a 4x5 ratio. Make sense? The entry "2 x 3 (4 x 6)" means something similar-- 4x6" is a standard print size. Use the "3 x 4" preset for your 6x8 photos.
Message was edited by: phosgraphis

Unwanted moderate distortion of aspect ratio when exporting video

This seems to be a new problem for me, and I don't THINK I've changed any of my parameters. But the result is now wrong... Help!
I use my VCR to record from US broadcasts (good old fashioned plain old TV, NTSC, I presume). Then I transfer snippets onto my DV camcorder (good ol' plain DV, nothing with 16:9 or anything like that). Then I import my DV footage into iMovie HD 6.0.2. It imports fine and looks like a normal aspect ratio.
But when I export using the File > Export... setting, I get a Quicktime video which appears vertically squished. The faces are too wide, bodies are too fat.
Looking at the various aspect ratios, I see that the preview window in iMovie HD is about 720 by 525 -- there are no black bars or letterboxing, and faces and bodies look normal. But the output video is 720 by 480, which is (according to a quick Google search) a normal NTSC output. No cropping has taken place, and no letterboxing, either. So that's why it's squished. But...
So why is iMovie showing me something from right off my TV screen which is the wrong aspect ratio but seems to have the correct proportions? That would seem to imply that my good ol' TV and VCR are not actually operating in NTSC proportions... which would be extremely weird because the footage I happen to have recorded is from an old game show from the 1960s. Do I have some setting wrong somewhere?? Is there something fundamental I don't understand? Help! Like I said, this is a new problem with me and I don't recall having changed any import settings.

Thanks for your help! I had no idea that so many video processes use rectangular pixels. But I'm still confused. What I see on screen in iMovie (and most QuickTime stuff) looks fine, but what I got out of this last set of conversions looks wrong.
Obviously you used the Full Quality DV option which uses rectangular pixels, right?
Uh... I have no idea. I've spent a couple of minutes looking through the menus in iMovie and I don't see anything labeled "Full Quality DV". I'm not specifically trying to export in DV format; I'm trying to compress my NTSC format so that it plays back in nearly full size on my iBook laptop, which cannot keep up with Sorensen video or the H.264 (or two-sixty-whatever) codecs. I found that Cinepak CAN be played back at this size on my iBook. But Cinepak is a compression standard, not a video frame size standard, right?
What you are seeing is normal... 720x480 NTSC rectangular pixel DV should be scaled to 656x480 square pixels.
No, it's not normal. It doesn't look normal to the eye. It's not what normally happened to me in the past. It drives me nuts. By those three definitions, it's not normal.
I am not trying to export in a format that fits some video standard or TV set. I'm trying to export a QuickTime movie which will display properly when played back by QuickTime. So I'm extremely frustrated when iMovie (or something) takes a video clip from an NTSC source and for some odd reason squishes it.
When you say that "720x480 NTSC rectangular pixel DV should be scaled to 656x480 square pixels", I assume you mean that it should be scaled to that number of square pixels in order to display on a computer monitor with square pixels (i.e., basically all computer monitors) in a way which makes faces and bodies appear of normal proportions, right? Are you implying that the problem is that rectangular pixels are NOT being converted/resampled to square pixels, but that the conversion is being done on a (no-resampling) pixel-by-pixel basis? I'm just not sure I understnand the point you are making here.
Since I had different results in the past, there must be SOMETHING different about my current setup. After reading the link you suggested, I see that there are a HUGE number of possible complications out there. The main idea, however, is that I want to produce a QuickTime movie which looks the same as the preview shown in iMovie: Same shape of faces, same shape of bodies, just as it was when I originally viewed the footage on my television.
Thanks!

Add custom aspect ratio to crop tool drop down box

hello,
i need a few custom aspect ration settings to my crop tool. is this possible, its horrible to do this manual.
regards

Mark,
That's actually a great idea that you brought up, although it still isn't quite suited for my case.
By the time I've gone into projects, I would have typed in the ratio already. But I can see the benefit of doing this batch.
On your great idea...
I've always liked how lightroom presets worked (you could have presets of many different settings into one easily selectable one), versus Aperture only having presets for individual adjustments. Your method would come really close to a global preset as in Lightroom. I've been thinking about this for such a long time!

Preset aspect ratios and cropping

Is there any difference between the 4 x 3 (book) crop and and the 4 x 3 (DVD) crop?
I have been working in Final Cut and importing cropped photos from iPhoto as stills. Just wondering if both crop presets are the the same or if they're different to accommodate specific print and video requirements -- such as resolution (dpi) or pixel ratio.
Just curious. Thanks.

Hi there,
I believe the big difference seems to be the ability to use the 4 x 3 (book) in Portrait constrain, while 4 x 3 (DVD) does not offer that option.
I don't think there is any difference other than the Portrait option...
Rick
iMac G5 iSight 20" - 30G iPOD in Slimming Black - Mac OS X (10.4.7) - HP Pav 15" WS and Toshiba Sat 17" WS LP's - Canon 20D & A620

How to check for different crop aspect ratios

The problem I'm having is that I have hundreds of images that I need to send to a photo print lab. Before sending off my images I have to make sure they all will fit correctly for 8x10 prints (5:4 aspect ratio) and other ratios but I need to keep them cropped in my camera's default 3:2 aspect ratio for people who want to buy 4x6 prints.
So what I do when I open all my images in Bridge's Camera RAW browser is fit and crop any images that need cropping but using the 3:2 aspect ratio. I then need to check to see if my crop will work as an 8x10 crop picture so that nobody's heads are cut off, etc. The problem Bridge is giving me is that when I crop the first time it doesn't allow me to check another crop without losing the original first crop. For example, I do my first crop as an 3:2 aspect ratio and then when I click on 5:4 to check for 8x10 prints it resizes the crop area which lets me check the crop for 5:4 but when I go back to 3:2 it doesn't go back to the original crop so I have recrop the original crop from memory. Is there any way to solve this problem? Basically crop it twice without loosing the first crop so that I can go back.
Also is there any way to quickly click on all aspect ratios like 5x7, 8x10, etc and have the crop centered in the image so that I can quickly check if anything is cut off? My lab is a high volume automated photo lab so they crop by using the center of each picture and I can only give them one image per person. Most of my images don't need cropping because I try to do it in camera but I have to check to see if they will fit for other crop sizes. Currently Bridge makes me create the crop size manually and then visually center the crop over my image. I would prefer quick buttons that when clicked on will show me what the crop will look like in different crop ratios. Is there anyway to do that?
Thanks for any help you can give me

You might want to try this in Adobe Lightroom (it uses the same Camera Raw
engine as PS and Bridge).
In the develop mode you can use the crop tool with presets and custom
options that works faster and has an easier and better history tool to
retrieve your original crop setting than Camera raw in Bridge and PS has to
offer.
I would prefer quick buttons that when clicked on will show me what the crop
will look like in different crop ratios. Is there anyway to do that?

Cropping in PS while Maintaining Aspect Ratio and DPI

I shoot the Nikon D3, RAW (.NEF) and convert through ACR. Through ACR, the DPI is set to 300 DPI; the DPI caries over to Photoshop.
I crop in Photoshop using the crop tool (not marquee). To maintain 2:3 or 3:2 aspect ratios, the crop tool requires the width and height in inches or pixels. If specifying resolution, the document size will crop to that DPI, if not; the DPI is derived from pixel dimensions.
In my case, I’ve been cropping at 2in by 3in (or reverse for orientation). The resulting “real” image pixel dimensions are still very high (correct to crop size) but the document size reported in PS is 2in by 3in with a wildly high DPI. By changing the resolution back to 300 DPI through Photoshop, the document size returns to normal. Therefore the picture has not lost anything; it appears to only be a function of the Meta data. The pixel dimensions remain constant while the document size and DPI change.
It apears that you canot specify an aspect ratio via the crop tool without defining it in inches or cm. You can do it with the marquee tool but the marquee tool sucks for cropping. You can however crop in ACR with the crop tool by merely specifying the aspect ratio (not in inches or cm). In summary, the PS crop tool is based in inches or cm while the ACR crop tool is simply aspect ratio.
What I can do to crop in PS while maintaining aspect ratio and defined DPI. Is there a work-around, magic trick, or something else I can do to fool the PS crop tool into an aspect ratio not based in inches or cm?

Just to summarize:
Setting a dimensioned ratio (e.g., 2 in by 3 in for Width and Height) in the Crop tool without filling in a Resolution value yields a crop with the desired aspect ratio, and without any resampling.
There is no way to specify a ratio with the crop tool, specifically, as the OP has requested, though in a future version perhaps specifying simple numbers there without any units might be a way Adobe could facilitate this. It would be a nice addition and with little downside.
I guess what I don't understand, though, is why the OP cares about the "high" resulting dpi value? It's just a number.
Expanding on this, the Resolution is nothing but a metadata value that can be changed at will (e.g., through Image - Image Size... - uncheck Resample) at any time in the future. There is ALWAYS a Resolution value associated with the image, both before and after the crop (though the crop tool may end up changing it; so what?). In short, the Resolution is just an arbitrary figure until such time as the user wants to use the image for a purpose (e.g. printing).
Always think in terms of pixel dimensions (number of pixels horizontally and vertically) while editing, then think about dpi right before publishing. It's hard to go wrong this way.
-Noel

Workflow / Aspect Ratio / Cropping

Hi all,
I have about 200 images that I need to crop 5inch x 7inch, then to change the aspect ratio to D1/DV PAL 1.07. But what order do I need to carry out the work? Aspect Ratio or cropping first? Or does it make no difference?
Thank you

deakant wrote:
Hi all,
I have about 200 images that I need to crop 5inch x 7inch, then to change the aspect ratio to D1/DV PAL 1.07. But what order do I need to carry out the work? Aspect Ratio or cropping first? Or does it make no difference?
Thank you
PAL (Phase Alternating Line)
This format is used particularly in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and in some areas of Asia. PAL uses altogether 625 scan lines, thereof approx. 575 are visible. The color subcarrier has a frequency of approx. 4.43 MHz in the case of analog PAL (complementary view). Special NTSC or PAL color subcarrier signals will not be transferred via connections like SCART (RGB) and YUV. Such a signal is only transferred via connections like Composite Video, RCA, FBAS and Y/C or S-Video (S-VHS) respectively. The refresh rate is 25 Hz or 25 fps respectively. This corresponds to 50 Hz (interlaced) or 50 fields/s respectively. The digital standard resolution is 720x576 pixel for DVDs, 480x576 pixel for SVCDs and 352x288 pixel for VCDs.
The digital standard resolution is 720x576 pixel for DVDs to me that is 5:4 sapect ratio where NTSC has a 4:3 aspect ratio. Why doyou want to do a 7:5 aspect ratio crop.

Solution for Aperture's aspect ratio/export bug?

take an image, then use the crop tool to crop it to a 'perfect' 2x3 or 3x2 aspect ratio.
now export the image.
my case?
Canon 350D images, cropped to 2x3, exported to 'within 750x510' with the purpose of getting an image of 340x510 pixels.
the result? 340x509.
the only way to get a correct export size is to manually change the crop dimensions in the HUD; very inefficient; and sometimes this doesn't work either. rather than getting 340x510, Aperture sometimes skips to 339x510.
it's especially difficult to export images in my favourite mobile size: 174x204, even when using the equivalent 29:34 aspect ratio to crop the image.
any ideas?

found it.
first, I had to extend the length parameter of the Export preset far beyond my goal of 204 pixels and rely on the 174 width and aspect ratio to automatically calculate the final exported length of 204.
next, I had to manually increase the crop length of the image, 1 or 2 pixels at a time, and export each time until Aperture exported my exact required dimensions. it only took 8 tries!!

Import file format aspect ratio

If I import a video in Mpeg2 format, After effects uses the wrong aspect ratio and crops off the sides of the video. Other video formats are fine but my camera records in Mpeg2 so I have to convert before import

What size is the Mpeg2 format? What Pixel Aspect Ratio? After Effects always handles different sizes and pixel aspect ratios correctly if you have not mucked up the settings somewhere in the chain.
Please show us info on your footage that includes frame size, frame rate, and compression. Then Please show us the information on your compositions.

Unwanted default to 'constrain aspect ratio' of crops

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