How to resize your images quickly and easily

Image resizing can seem daunting, especially if you need to fit precise dimensions, down to the pixel. Programs like Adobe Photoshop seem intimidating and online tools can often appear sketchy. That's why we're covering two simple ways to get this job done, one that explains the simplest way to resize an image in the all-powerful Photoshop, and another that uses a free, easily-accessed online tool that will help you complete the same task without any trickery, even from a Chromebook. 

How to resize your images in Photoshop

• Materials needed: A PC or Mac capable of running Photoshop and a copy of Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop has been considered the gold standard for image editing and manipulation software for multiple decades. While you might think it's massive overkill for something as simple as resizing an image, using it for this process is still extremely simple. 

If you find yourself needing to resize images consistently, and potentially wanting to get a little more creative with your photo editing and manipulation, Adobe offers Photoshop via a $9.99 per month plan that also includes access to Lightroom. This other app is an incredibly useful tool for everyone from pro to amateur digital photographers trying to get the best results from their camera. 

I wouldn't recommend this subscription if you only work on digital pics occasionally, but it's definitely worth considering if you're taking up photography as a hobby, or if you enjoy tinkering with images on the regular.  

Method 1: Using the image resizing menu

1. Open image

Open Photoshop and click File > Open… Then find your image on your PC or Mac and click Open. 

2. Resize the image

Click Image > Image Size… 

3. Set your image size parameters

Clicking Image Size will open a new window that lists the picture's width and height, as well as its resolution in PPI (pixels per inch). Determine what metric you want to use to resize your image. 

• “Pixels” are best for photos destined for the web and social media.
• “Inches” are usually best for pics that will be printed. 

When you've chosen, click the drop-down boxes to the right of the width and height fields and select your measurement of choice.

4. Complete resizing

After selecting Pixels or Inches, Photoshop will display your image's current size using that metric. You can then change the width or height fields to whatever your target size is in Inches or Pixels. When you change either width or height, the other will change automatically to maintain the current aspect ratio. Once you're happy with the altered size metric, click OK. 

Note: If you want to individually change the Width and Height, you can click the small chain link icon to the left of those 2 fields. This will allow you to alter each individually. However, be aware this will distort your image, and usually isn't advisable for most pics.

5. Save your image

Save your image by clicking File > Save a Copy. There you'll be able to select the save location, name your file, and select your format in the “Save as type” field. The two most common file types around the web are .jpg and .png. If you think you might want to go back into your image and edit it again later, I'd also recommend saving a separate .psd (Photoshop) version, as well. 

Method 2: Using the Crop Tool

1. Open image

Open Photoshop and click File > Open… Then find your image on your PC or Mac and click Open. 

2. Select the Crop Tool

Click on the Crop tool in the toolbar, or hit C on your keyboard. This will open a menu at the top of your screen where you can set the parameters the crop tool will use.

3. Use W x H x Resolution menu to set parameters

Locate the W x H x Resolution menu at the top of the screen. Then, click on the left drop-down and click W x H x Resolution. 

This mode is best if you want to target a specific pixel or print size. Insert the width you'd like, in pixels or inches, into the left field. 

You can type “px” or “in” after the number to be sure you're metric is set to pixels or inches, respectively. Do the same for the height in the second field. 

Finally, the third field is used to input a resolution. It's usually best to leave this blank for basic image resizing jobs.

3a. Alternately, use Ratio to set parameters

If you select Ratio, you can then fill in the two fields to the right of the drop-down with the ratio numbers of your choice, 4×3 or 16×9, for example. Put the width of the aspect ratio in the left field, and its height in the right.  

Ratio should be used if you want your image to fit a specific aspect ratio for things like wallpapers or web design.

4. Set selection grid

Once you've set your parameters, click anywhere on your image and you'll see a selection grid appear. You can grab and resize the grid and frame by dragging any edge or corner of this it. Use the selection frame and grid to select the portion of the image you want to keep. 

Anything outside of the grid will be cropped away, while anything inside of it will be resized, if you're using W x H x resolution. Set the grid to the size you want. 

Note that the shape of the grid will stay consistent with either the aspect ratio you chose, or with the W x H x Resolution settings you typed in.

5. Crop and resize

Once you're happy with the selected area, click the Check Mark icon all the way to the right of the top menu, where you set your parameters earlier, or simply hit Enter on your keyboard. 

Photoshop will cut away anything not within the selection, and will resize what is inside of it to your chosen parameters. 

6. Save your image

Save your image by clicking File > Save a Copy. There you'll be able to select the save location, name your file, and select your format in the “Save as type” field. The two most common file types around the web are .jpg and .png. If you think you might want to go back into your image and edit it again later, I'd also recommend saving a separate .psd (Photoshop) version, as well. 

How to resize your images for free on the web

• Materials needed: A PC, Mac, or Chromebook

This free website, BeFunky.com, is accessible from any desktop browser on Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS. It offers free and easy resizing of common file types, with the option to save your final product as a .jpg, .png, or .pdf. 

While it's not nearly as versatile and fully featured as Photoshop, it's more than capable of handling the vast majority of simple image resizing tasks, for free, and without installing any software. This is especially great for Chromebook users with limited options for locally-installed software of any kind.  

Method 1: Using the image resizing interface.

1. Go to BeFunky.com and open your image

Go to the provided link, Click on Open at the top of the screen, and select your source of choice from the drop-down. If you chose “Computer,” browse to the file you want to resize and click Open.

2. Set your resizing parameters

Once you click open, your image will appear and you'll immediately see a Resize menu slide out from the left. Here you can set the target width and height of the final image in their respective fields.

By default, the resizing process is locked to the image's original aspect ratio, meaning changing one field will also change the other to maintain that aspect ratio. Alternately, you can resize your image by selecting an X-Scale or Y-Scale setting as a percentage of its original size. Like the pixel settings above, this preserves the original aspect ratio.

Note: If you'd like to change the size of the width or height independently, deselect the “Lock Aspect Ratio” box. Be aware, this will distort your image, and may not be suitable for most jobs.

3. Apply your parameters

Once you've got your settings where you want them, click Apply. Your image will immediately be resized to your chosen parameters, and you'll be presented with a slew of other image edits and enhancements BeFunky is capable of. 

4. Save your image

Click on Save at the top of the screen and choose where you'd like to save your pic.  If you chose “Computer,” you'll see a pop-up with a field for a filename, and a choice of three formats: JPG, PNG, and PDF. You can also set the quality of your final pic to limit its file size. We recommend leaving this at 100. Once you've got all of your settings chosen, click save.

5. Download your resized image

Once you click Save, you'll see a window where you can browse to the folder where you'd like to save the file on your PC. Select the location of your choice and click Save.

Method 2: Using BeFunky's Crop tool 

1. Go to BeFunky.com and open your image

Go to the provided link and Click on Open at the top of the screen and select your source of choice from the drop-down. If you chose “Computer,” browse to the file you want to resize and click Open.

2. Open the Crop tool 

Once you click Open, your image will appear and you'll immediately see an “Edit” menu slide out from the left. Click Crop, which is the top option in the “Essentials” section. The Crop menu will slide out. 

3. Set your Crop tool parameters

Once the menu slides out, you'll see the top drop-down will default to “Freeform” which allows you to choose all of your own settings. Other common aspect ratios are also available. Whichever drop-down option you choose, you'll be presented with a Portrait/Landscape toggle that will flip the numbers in the “Width” and “Height” fields, the aforementioned two fields where you can enter your desired width and height, and a “Lock Aspect Ratio” check box that determines whether the width and height can be set independently. Set the target width and height of the final image you're trying to produce.

4. Set your Crop tool selection box 

You can then alter which portion of the image will be retained and which will be discarded by resizing the white selection box that appears on top of your image. Anything within it will be retained and resized to the parameters you chose, anything outside will be discarded. If you chose “Lock Aspect Ratio” the box will automatically preserve the aspect ratio you chose in the top drop-down. 

Once you're happy with your selection, click Apply.

5. Save your image

Click Save at the top of the screen and choose where you'd like to save your pic.  If you chose “Computer,” you'll see a pop-up with a field for a filename, and a choice of three formats: JPG, PNG, and PDF. You can also set the quality of your final pic to limit its file size. We recommend leaving this at 100. Once you've got all of your settings chosen, click save.

6. Download your resized image

Once you click Save, you'll see a window where you can browse to the folder where you'd like to save the file on your PC. Select the location of your choice and click Save.

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