You would really like to create a circular avatar, to be able to use it on a forum you are subscribed to, but not being very familiar with photo editing software, you don't know how to do it. Is that so? Well… that is, bad, but know that I'm here to help you anyway! With today's guide, in fact, we will see together how to cut a photo in a circle using some of the most popular photo editing software, online services, and apps for smartphones and tablets suitable for the purpose.
Don't worry: even if you are not very familiar with the world of technology, and especially with that of photo editing, know that by scrupulously following the "tips" I will give you, you will not have the slightest problem in completing your Today's "enterprise". Making circular cutouts using the solutions I am about to propose is very simple: even a child could do it!
What are you doing still standing there? Make yourself comfortable, take all the time you need to concentrate on reading the next paragraphs and, more importantly, follow the instructions I am about to give you step by step. At the end of this reading you will get your circular photo without even realizing it. I wish you good reading and, above all, have fun!
Programs to cut photos in a circle
There are various programs to cut photos in a circle that you can use. Below you will list some, both free and paid, that you will surely find very useful: choose the one you prefer and use it to act on your photos.
Cut a photo in a circle with Photoshop
On your PC it is installed Photoshop, the powerful photo editing program developed by Adobe? So what are you waiting for to use its crop tools to get great circular photos? I guarantee you that the operation you need to perform is really very simple.
To begin with, start Photoshop on your computer and import the image you want to crop into it by selecting the item apri from the menu Fillet. Next, right click on the tool Rectangular selection which is at the top of the Photoshop toolbar (on the left side of the screen) and choose the tool Elliptical selection from the menu that appears. At this point, hold down the left mouse button and "draw" the photo area to be cropped in the circle (holding down the Shift on the keyboard as you create the selection you will get a perfect circle).
Once you have selected the portion of the photo to be enclosed in the circle, copy it by selecting the item Copy from the menu Modification Photoshop and paste it into a new image. To do this, select the item New… from the menu Fillet, choose to create a new image with a transparent background by selecting the item Transparent from the menu Background content and complete the operation by selecting the item Paste from the menu Modification.
Finally, save the output image by selecting the item Save with name ... from the menu Fillet and use the format PNG or that GIF, so as to preserve the transparency of the background. Admit it: it wasn't that hard to crop a circle photo in Photoshop, was it? If you would like more information on how to use Photoshop, take a look at the guide I have entirely dedicated to the famous program developed by Adobe.
Crop a photo in a circle with GIMP
Another solution that I recommend you to try for cut a photo in a circle è GIMP, very famous photo editing software that is considered by many to be the best free and open source alternative to the much more expensive Photoshop (which I told you about earlier). It offers some easy-to-use cropping tools that allow you to apply circular cropping to your shots quite easily.
To install GIMP, connected to its official website, click on the button Download x.xx.x and click sul pulsating Download GIMP x.xx.x directly, which is on the right, under the heading GIMP for Windows o GIMP for macOS, depending on the operating system you use.
Once the GIMP installation file has been downloaded, open it and follow the procedure that is proposed to you to complete the setup: on Windows, cheap sui bottoni Yes, OK, Install e end; on Macinstead, drag the GIMP icon into the folder Applications macOS, right-click on the software icon and select the item apri from the menu that appears to “bypass” the restrictions applied by Apple to programs from non-certified developers.
After installing and starting GIMP, open the menu Fillet, select the voice Apri ... from the latter and choose the image you want to apply the circular crop to. Then open the channel window (the red parallelepiped placed on the green and blue one in the window Channels-Levels) and verify that an alpha channel is present; if not, open the menu Subscription, select the voice Transparency and then Add alpha channel.
Now you have to crop the image: select, then, the tool Elliptical selection from the tool panel on the left and draw a circle on the portion of the image you want to keep. Then right click on the part of the image you have selected and click on the items Select> Invert from the menu that opens. Next, right click anywhere in the image and select the items Edit> Cut from the context menu. And that's it! The photo has been cropped correctly.
Now all you have to do is remove the excess background portion and then save your work: right-click again anywhere in the image, first click on the item Image and then Image auto crop give the menu check if you press.
If you are satisfied with the result, go to the menu Fillet, select the voice Save as ... and, in the window that opens, choose the format in which to save the output image (to maintain transparency, select the PNG or that GIF) and its destination folder. Did you see how simple it was to crop a circle image with GIMP? If you want more information on how to use GIMP, take a look at the tutorial I have dedicated to this program.
Crop a photo in a circle with Preview
A Mac you can avoid installing photo editing programs to make a circular crop on a photo. Thanks to Preview, the reader of images and PDF files present "standard" on macOS, it is in fact possible to do this in a handful of clicks.
To proceed, Preview the photo you want to crop by double clicking on it. If you have customized some macOS settings and Preview is not the default image reader on your Mac, right click on the file you want to edit, select the entry apri from the context menu and then click on the item Preview.
Now you can make the circular cutout of the photo: press the symbol of pencil located at the top, click on the button (⌵) located next to the symbol of dashed square and select the tool Select elliptical from the menu that opens. Then draw the circle on the portion of the photo you want to keep (to "draw" a perfect circle, hold down the left mouse button together with the Shift) and presses the button Cut out located at the top right.
If the image you are working on is not in PNG format, you will be asked for your consent to convert it to the format in question: press the blue button Converted And that's it. Circular clipping will be applied to the image and will have a transparent background. Did you see how simple it was?
Cut a photo in a circle online
Do the solutions I have proposed so far seem rather complicated to use? Would you like to resort to some online service that allows you to cut photos in a circle quickly and easily? Then take a look at the services listed below: I'm sure you'll find someone who can do it for you.
Cut My Pic!
Cut My Pic! is a web application that can be used on all major browsers without registering and without installing any additional plugins. It allows you to crop photos online quickly and easily, by choosing the type of crop to be applied to the uploaded image and acting on some of its parameters.
To use it, first of all connected to its home page, then presses the button Choose file, select the photo you want to circle and click on the button GO! placed in the center of the page. Now, move the slider located under the item to the right Round Corners to round off the image and possibly customize its parameters using the other menus and buttons you see on the page.
Then scroll all the way down the Cut My Pic home page! and, in the box ORIGINAL PIC, select the option PM1:1 o PM16:9 (depending on the type of cutout you want to apply), then position the square or rectangle in the desired point, resize it (if necessary) using the orange dots placed on the perimeter of the same and, finally, press the button PREVIEW.
In the box NEW PIC, you can preview your work: if you are satisfied and you do not need to make other changes to the image you have uploaded and cropped, press the button DONE! (down). On the page that opens, press one of the buttons located at the bottom of the page to download and / or share the photo you have cut out in a circle: press the symbol of the Envelope, to send it via email; click on the symbol of floppy disk with the arrow pointing down to download it locally in PNG format or presses on the icons of Facebook e Twitter to share it on social networks. Easier than that ?!
Photopea
Photopea is another service that I recommend you try to apply a circular crop to photos. It too does not require the use of external plugins to work and is really simple to use. Despite being free, the service allows you to subscribe to a Premium plan starting from $ 5 per month, in order to financially support its development and remove the few advertising banners on the page.
To use it, connected to its main page, presses on the symbol (X) to remove the welcome message to the service and open the photo you want to circle by clicking on the item Open from the menu Fillet (top left). Then hover the mouse cursor over the dashed rectangle present in the toolbar on the left and select the tool Ellipse Select.
Then draw the circle corresponding to the portion of the image you want to keep (by pressing the Shift you will draw a perfect circle), open the menu Select, select the voice reverse and press the button Canc on the keyboard. Finally, remove the excess background using the tool Crop Tool always present in the toolbar located on the left and, as soon as you have finished, save the modified image by selecting the items Export as > PNG from the menu Fillet.
App to crop a photo in a circle
want crop a photo in a circle from your smartphone or tablet? Unfortunately, many of the photo editing applications on the stores do not offer ad hoc features that allow you to do this. However, you can crop a photo in a circle using some advanced photo editing apps, such as Adobe Photoshop Mix and Pixelmator - we know both more closely.
Photoshop Express (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
Photoshop Express is an app developed by Adobe, the software house that gave life to the famous Photoshop, and in addition to allowing you to retouch the main parameters of the photos, it also offers the possibility of applying various changes. It doesn't have a proper circular cropping tool built in, but I'll walk you through a feature that can help you achieve a similar result.
After installing and launching Photoshop Express on your Android / iOS / iPadOS device, press the button NEXT 10 times in a row, press the button Adobe ID and log in with your Adobe account or, alternatively, log in with your account Google or through your account Facebook.
Once logged in, click on the button OK, grant Photoshop Express the necessary permissions to work and then click onpreview of the photo you intend to retouch. Then, scroll through the buttons at the bottom, press on the one depicting the cornice and select one of those that allow you to see the photo cut into a circle on a white or black background. If you are satisfied with the result, click on the button NEXT (top right) and choose the save or share option you want to use.
Pixelmator (iOS/macOS)
If you use a iPhone or iPad, I advise you to consider Pixelmator, a paid app (at the time of writing, the version for iOS costs 5,49 euros and the one for macOS 32,99 euros) that allows you to act on various parameters of your photos quickly and easily.
After installing and starting Pixelmator on your device, press the button capacitor positive (+) lead located at the top left and choose whether to use one photo already exists or if take a new one by pressing on one of the items in the menu below. After selecting or taking the photo to be cropped in a circle, presses on the symbol of brush (top), select the tool Select, presses on the voice Rectangular selection and choose the item Elliptical give the menu check if you press.
Next, "draw" the circle around the portion of the image you want to keep, tap on the item Elliptical selection located high and presses on the voice Invert located at the bottom right. Now, tap on the item Done located at the top right, tap on the portion of the image you want to remove (the one "external" to the circle) and press the item Delete from menu that opens. Finally, press on brush (top), tap on the item Cut out, remove the excess background, press on the item Apply, tap on the symbol Share (top right) and choose where and how to save the output photo.
How to cut a photo in a circle
