Can I crop or adjust a photo?

Yes. You can crop a photo and set a focus point. These are two very different things:

• The focus point does not change the photo. It only remembers which spot should stay visible whenever the picture is shown tightly cropped somewhere.
• Cropping changes the file – and it does so permanently.

So read the warning box first before you crop anything.

Cropping replaces the photo permanently

Before the crop runs, Photogala asks once more. The Crop photo? dialog says it word for word: “Cropping permanently replaces this photo with the cropped version. The original is not kept. Continue?”

There is no undo and no original file kept. If you might still need the original framing later, download the photo first (see Downloading photos) or use the focus point instead of a crop.

Who is allowed to do this?

• Your own photos are always editable – everything you uploaded yourself.
• Moderators and hosts may edit every photo in the event.
• On someone else’s photo that isn’t yours, the Edit entry simply isn’t there.

Note

Crop and focus point need no particular plan and no extra feature – it only depends on whether the photo is yours or you may moderate.

Where the feature lives

You do not edit a photo directly in the picture view. Crop and focus point sit inside the image details dialog, and they only appear after you tap Edit there.

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The image details dialog. The Edit link sits at the top right, next to “Description”. ① the figures: Likes, Comments, Shares, Downloads, Views. A tile only shows when its number is above zero – for the first four also only when the feature is switched on for the event; Views always counts. Likes, Comments and Downloads are clickable and open the matching list. ② View on Map under Metadata & Location – only for photos carrying a GPS location; below it sit capture date and camera info. ③ the button row at the bottom. It fills up in order with Like, Comments, Share, Download – and, if you are allowed to, Edit, Unpublish, Delete. On wide screens the first four of them sit in the row, on a phone the first three; the rest live under More (if only one entry is left there, it joins the row instead). In between you find uploader and date, the Description (with Edit if you uploaded the photo or manage the event) and Albums, if the photo belongs to one.

The path is always the same:

1. Open the image details.

2. Next to the Description heading, tap Edit (pencil icon).

3. Scroll down to the Metadata & Location section. Focus point and Crop now sit at the very bottom.

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Edit mode, scrolled to the end: below Copyright sit FOCUS POINT – showing its current state Centered – and CROP. At the very bottom Cancel and Save changes, which only apply to the fields above.

Three ways into edit mode

Way 1 – Open the photo and call up the details

1. Tap the photo in the gallery. It opens in full screen.

2. Tap Details in the control bar at the bottom. The image details dialog opens.

3. Tap Edit.

Way 2 – Swipe up on a phone

In full screen you can swipe up on the photo on a phone instead of using the Details button – that opens the same image details. Inside real (edge-to-edge) fullscreen the gesture is deliberately disabled; use the Details button there.

Way 3 – Straight from the gallery into edit mode

This is the fastest route when you already know which photo you want to adjust.

1. On a computer: right-click the photo in the gallery grid. On a phone: press and hold the photo.

   

   The context menu of a photo tile – the Edit entry goes straight into edit mode. ① Select and Open, ② Like, Comments, Share and Download – Share only appears when sharing is switched on for the event, Download only when single downloads are allowed, ③ Edit and Delete – on your own photos, on other people’s only with moderation rights, ④ Unpublish – only with moderation rights; on a photo that is not approved yet the entry reads Publish, ⑤ Customize gallery – for hosts and admins only.

2. Choose Edit. The image details dialog opens directly in edit mode – the extra step via the Edit link is skipped.

Cropping a photo

1. In edit mode, tap Crop photo at the bottom. The Crop photo dialog opens with the hint “Drag the frame to choose the visible area.”

2. Pick an aspect ratio at the top:

   • Free – the frame can be dragged completely freely. Only here do you get edge handles in addition to the four corner handles.
   • 1:1 – square.
   • 16:9 – wide format.
   • Original – keeps the photo’s own aspect ratio.

3. Drag the frame by its round handles, or move the whole frame by grabbing its middle. A grid of guide lines helps you line things up.

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   The Crop photo dialog: the four aspect ratios at the top (Free here), the round handles and the rule-of-thirds grid on the image, and Cancel, Reset and Crop at the bottom. The safety prompt only comes after Crop.

4. Reset restores the full frame, Cancel discards everything.

5. Tap Crop. Now the Crop photo? confirmation appears – confirm with Yes, crop.

The crop runs in the background

After you confirm, the photo is reprocessed and all preview sizes are regenerated. Until that finishes, the image details show a Pending Operations section with the note “Processing…”. That’s normal – wait a moment and reload the view.

Note

If you don’t drag the frame at all (so it still covers the whole picture), nothing happens: a crop identical to the original is discarded and the dialog simply closes.

Setting a focus point

Preview thumbnails are often cropped more tightly than the full photo. The focus point decides which spot stays visible. The hint in the interface names exactly the places this affects: “Tap the spot that should stay visible when this photo is cropped (covers, headers, grid tiles).”

1. In edit mode, tap Set focus point. Next to the Focus point heading you can see the current state – either Centered or the position in percent.

2. Free tap: tap directly on the important spot in the preview – a face, for example. A marker jumps there.

3. Presets: to the right sits a grid of nine fields (top/middle/bottom × left/centre/right). Tapping one puts the focus on that corner or edge.

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   The Focus point popup: the preview with its marker on the left, the nine presets on the right. Center is missing here – this photo is still Centered.

4. Center resets the focus point. The entry only shows when one has been set.

The focus point takes effect immediately

Focus point and crop are applied right away – you do not have to tap Save Changes for them. That button only applies to the other fields in edit mode (see below).

Example

Two pictures, two different tools. In the group photo the bride stands at the far left and gets cut off in the square grid tiles. You open Edit, tap Set focus point and tap her face – next to Focus point it now reads a position in percent instead of Centered, the tile shows her, and the file itself stays untouched. In the second picture a stranger’s arm sticks into the frame on the right: here you use Crop photo, pick 16:9, drag the frame and confirm with Yes, crop. After that only the cropped version exists – which is why you downloaded the picture first. On a motion photo you would only have had the focus point; there is no crop button there.

What else edit mode contains

In the same dialog you can also change:

• Description – a free text field for the caption.
• Albums – assign the photo to one or more albums (only when albums exist). See Browsing albums.
• Task – assign the photo to a photo task or remove that assignment (only when tasks are on).
• Rotation – Rotate right (clockwise), Rotate left (counter-clockwise) and Flip (180°).
• Metadata & Location – GPS Location (incl. Current Position), Capture Date/Time, Camera Info (camera, lens) and Copyright (artist/photographer, copyright notice).

These changes only take effect with Save Changes; Cancel discards them. A rotation is queued on save and then carried out in the background.

What works for videos and motion photos?

Cropping is for photos only

• Photos: focus point and cropping.
• Motion photos: the focus point only – the crop button isn’t there.
• Videos: neither focus point nor crop. On a video these sections don’t appear at all.

Many photos at once

Cropping one by one is tedious for a whole series. That’s why Rotate and Metadata are available as Bulk Actions: select the photos in the gallery, then tap Bulk Actions in the action bar. The dialog has the tabs Task, Album, Description, Rotate and Metadata.

Note

Bulk actions are reserved for hosts and admins – as a regular guest you won’t see the button. There is no bulk crop; cropping always happens photo by photo. How selection works is covered in Selecting multiple photos.

Selection mode marks several photos — cropping still happens one at a time: 1 the selection counter, 2 the action bar, which has no crop action, 3 select every photo in the current view.

Troubleshooting

If something is missing

• No “Edit” link in the details dialog. The photo isn’t yours and you’re not a moderator.
• No “Focus point” or “Crop” section. You’re not in edit mode yet – tap Edit first, then scroll down to Metadata & Location.
• Only “Focus point”, no crop. It’s a motion photo. Videos show neither.
• “Could not load the image.” The photo is probably still being processed. Wait a moment and reopen the dialog.
• The tile still looks uncropped afterwards. The new preview sizes are generated in the background; wait a moment and reload.
• The crop button doesn’t react. While “Cropping…” is running, the buttons are disabled.

Related help pages

• Fullscreen & slideshow
• Selecting multiple photos
• Browsing albums
• Downloading photos
• How do I delete my own photo?