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AntDX316
Inspiring
February 15, 2022
Answered

Photoshop crop is destructive?

  • February 15, 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 701 views

Photoshop crop is destructive?  I can't crop back out like Lightroom?  You have to "know" to create a duplicate to prevent the 200+ photomerge from being cropped forever?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Semaphoric

No, it's optional:

 

4 replies

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 15, 2022

There is the additional issue of rotating while cropping (though I doubt this is what the OP is concerned about). 

If the Layers are not Smart Objects a crop-rotation would be applied destructively. 

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 15, 2022
@AntDX316 wrote:

Photoshop crop is destructive?  I can't crop back out like Lightroom?  You have to "know" to create a duplicate to prevent the 200+ photomerge from being cropped forever?


 

Photoshop works the way just about all photo editors worked when it was introduced (early 1990s), when all photo applications did destructive adjustments by default and it was considered normal. Lightroom came out almost 20 years later, and applies nondestructive adjustments by default, but that architecture also means it can’t do a lot of what Photoshop does.

 

As Semaphoric showed, Photoshop does offer you the Delete Cropped Pixels option. Disable that if you want a nondestructive crop. A lot of other photo editors still haven’t added that nondestructive crop option…but Photoshop has it.

Semaphoric
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 15, 2022

It should be noted that the Crop Command (from the Image menu) is always destructive.

Stephen Marsh
Community Expert
Community Expert
February 15, 2022

It depends on the settings, as shown by @Semaphoric but it always pays to know how a tool works before you use it. Photoshop is very different to Lightroom so it is not always safe to make assumptions.

Semaphoric
Community Expert
SemaphoricCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 15, 2022

No, it's optional:

 

Community Expert
February 15, 2022

It being optional is a godsend.  

AntDX316
AntDX316Author
Inspiring
February 15, 2022

it should be unchecked By Default