Need advice for cropping photos fast
I have always used Irfanview for editing photos I transfer from my camera to my computer. I like to give them a fairly tight crop and have always done it manually by dragging the box around the image.... one-by-one. It gets tedious and time consuming when you have a big batch of photos to get through. I don't see an easy auto crop option in Irfanview. Is there a way to do it or download some sort of plug-in for that program? If I need move on from Irfanview(I'm sure many of you will say about time) in order to do this, please all of you let me know what you use to do this if you do it. I would love a free software solution that can auto crop and also do it in bulk. It would speed up the listing process in a truly major way. Am I crazy to think that is something so simple to write code for that it should have been a standard option in all photo editing software going back to the early 90's? All it takes is writing command to scan an image from it's furthest points horizontally and vertically, create a square using those points, and then remove the area outside that square.
ittybitnot
·2 years ago@leareamc
I use a freeware program for my computer called PhotoScape. I think the Win 10 version is PhotoScapeX I do editing right on my camera SD card like @mr_lincoln. It can crop/resize and retain ratio/sharpen/lighten/darken/straighten/rotate/, etc. and has many feature that I don't even use very often. I don't know of any program that can actually CROP in bulk, but this one has an auto feature or can be done manually per image.
The learning curve was not bad, and the following is a great tutorial as well.
https://funlifecrisis.com/photoscape-x-editing-tutorial/
duffy4444
·2 years agoCropping photos FAST ?
One of the first things your customer sees is your photos. You need to take time to properly process them and make them as attractive as possible (without overdoing it, of course). Cropping, rotating, exposure, brightness, contrast, shadows and black level, hue, tint, vibrance, saturation, sharpness and detail are all important in making the best of your photos. When I'm buying on eBay, sloppiness in photo taking is probably the first thing that turns me off on a seller's listing.
Don't look for a hasty fix. Take your time and show your buyers a good photo presentation... It's really worth the time to learn how to do it and it will pay off. After you learn, it will become routine. I happen to extensively use Polarr for free, and then do any final necessary tweaks in the Photos & Video section of each eBay listing being made. My buyers occasionally tell me my photos stand out very well when compared to most other seller's competitive listings of the same items.
Cheers, Duffy
penguins_dont_fly
·2 years ago@leareamc
Adobe Lightroom has the option to copy and paste Edit Settings.
You can crop the first one, "copy edit settings" and then select all > "paste edit settings". You can choose which settings to copy/paste so you can also do color & lighting adjustments at the same time.
leareamc
OP2 years agoWith Abobe Lightroom, are you saying it will just save a set parameter(such as a certain length/width) to crop every photo regardless off what it might be cutting out... or if I take one photo and crop it leaving a 1/4" space around the image, the software will then learn that and scan and crop all other images just like I did for the first?
leareamc
OP2 years agoThanks for the suggestions. So far, seems like I'm not reading that there is a program that does something like what I mentioned. I know about setting auto parameters for a crop, but I'm really looking for one with a simple code that does what I mentioned. Simply taking pics close up enough doesn't always work for many of the types of things I list considering the angles and distances I need to shoot things from to get the focus and lighting right. I actually hadn't considered what one person said about creating all your drafts ahead of time and then taking pics with the app which might be a bit of a quicker process.... still doesn't take away the need to manually crop many of the pics though, plus one thing I don't like about the app is that you can't use flash with it. I know the app probably was designed purposely to avoid flash because of the way it can mess things up, but if you know how to angle things, it makes colors pop and photos look crisp and sharp plus gets rid of shadows. I often have to go in and add a little brightness and contrast when taking pics on the app which is an additional time suck.
toysaver
·2 years ago"still doesn't take away the need to manually crop many of the pics though"
That's one of the most entitled statements I've ever heard. Do you have any idea how long it takes to crop an image from film in a darkroom? Using a computer is not manual in any regard.
m60driver
·2 years agoI use the free photo editing tool Gimp. There is a learning curve but once you develop certain routines you can easily and quickly crop, rotate, change lighting, and even create a whiter background.
mr_lincoln
·2 years agoHi @leareamc
I agree with @kensgiftshop and @toysaver , take closer pics and upload them and like others have mentioned, use the eBay cropping tool if necessary.
I use a digital camera on a tri pod so when I zoom in on something the camera is stable resulting in a good image. You can get a mount for a tripod for smartphones too. Using a tripod and taking pics of something that you will rotate to see all sides makes it quick and easy to take a pic, rotate, take a pic, rotate, etc.
I take the chip from my camera and slip it into the card reader on my laptop, I can then access pics on the card through the eBay listing tool to add photos.
Listing on eBay or other sites takes time and anywhere you can save time is a bonus ... I have streamlined the photography end of listing things for sale. It takes way more time completing listing forms then taking pictures.
fern*wood
·2 years agoI use the ebay tool, but it isn't a fast process for sure. I found, though, I was cropping too much and making some photos too skinny or oddly too close up, which look way worse than not cropping at all--especially for the gallery. So I've scaled back the number of photos that I adjust, which has been a big time saver.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoIf you take good close up photos, you wouldn't have to crop them.
fbusoni
·2 years agoAll it takes is writing command to scan an image from it's furthest points horizontally and vertically, create a square using those points, and then remove the area outside that square.
Since you seem to know precisely what is required, have you looked online and if so, what have you found?
deltilogical
·2 years agoI hear what you are saying but a program that crops a set perimeter around every photo exactly the same seems like it would lead to some problems.
The photo editor is the slowest part of the listing process. I will sometimes use the MS photo editor to run through all my cropping first.
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoWith postcards, have you considered using a flat bed scanner that can be set up for auto crop?
chevymontecarlo88
·2 years agoMaybe try using your phone (assuming you have a smartphone). You can remove the step of transferring photos to your computer and edit pictures (rather easily) on your phone to publish them using your phone app.
It is easier to create the listing as a draft on your PC before you edit your photos. This way once edited, you can upload your photos via EBAY app (on phone) to your saved drafts. Publish them after that.
My method.
1. Create Listing Draft first. I use my computer because it is easier to do rather than using APP (try to create at least 12 listings at a time)
2. Take photos of item on Cell phone (take all photos of 12 different listings at a time)
3. Edit on cell phone using photo viewer that came with phone. (crop to square) Edit all 12 lots of photos
4. I also use a background remover paid app that batches photos and save to phone. Batch all photos
5. Open Ebay App on phone to transfer finished photos to saved drafts. Upload each lots of photos to each draft.
6. Publish each draft once photos of each listing uploaded.
I tend to do this for more than 1 listing at a time. (create about a dozen listings at a time)
Hope this make sense on how i streamlined the process for me.
toysaver
·2 years agoUse the viewfinder. Take a pictures up-close and centered and you won't need to crop at all.
az93
·2 years agoI don't even know how to crop with the free ebay tool!