RefVid
Tutorials

Crop product image for AI video: from phone screenshot to clean photo

2:58

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A phone screenshot of a product carries the status bar, the app's buttons and the price, and the AI video picks them up. Cropping the photo down to the product keeps the subject clean and the same in every shot, because the video model sees the cropped photo, not the original. This three-minute tutorial shows RefVid's crop tool from start to finish; every step is written out below with its own screenshot.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Phone screenshot → clean product photo
  2. 0:12Add a phone screenshot
  3. 0:33Crop on every photo
  4. 0:43The crop dialog
  5. 1:36Apply, reopen, reset
  6. 2:08Safe across a reload
  7. 2:22The same in the quick box
  8. 2:34Try it at refvid.com/studio

How to crop a product photo in RefVid

  1. New element with a phone screenshot of a perfume bottle as the main photo, and the note "Looks like a phone screenshot" with a Crop button
    1

    Add the photo, or paste it

    In the studio, click New element and add a product photo, or paste one with Cmd+V (Ctrl+V on Windows). When a photo has a phone screenshot's shape, RefVid says so and offers Crop.

  2. The pointer over the main photo: the Crop button in its centre and the remove button in the top corner
    2

    Point at a photo and click Crop

    Crop sits in the middle of every photo tile when you point at it, not only the main one. The × that removes the photo stays in the corner.

  3. The Crop photo dialog on Original: the box around the whole phone screenshot, the shapes Original, 1:1, 9:16, 16:9, 3:4 and 4:3, Cancel and Apply
    3

    Start from the whole photo

    The crop dialog opens on Original, with the box around the whole photo. Drag the box to move it; on Original a corner resizes it freely.

  4. A thin crop box with the yellow note "Too long: 3.3 : 1 — max 2.5 : 1, it will be padded"
    4

    Mind the yellow note

    Pull an edge to trim one side. A crop longer than 2.5 : 1 gets a yellow note that it will be padded; under 300 px it can't be applied. Back in range, the note fades.

  5. The 1:1 shape picked and the square box around the perfume bottle, leaving out the status bar, the price and the buttons
    5

    Pick a shape and frame the product

    Choose 1:1, 9:16, 16:9, 3:4 or 4:3 and the box glides to that shape. Drag it onto the product; in a shape, a corner keeps the ratio, while an edge frees it and turns the shape off.

  6. The main photo tile now shows only the perfume bottle on white
    6

    Apply

    The cropped photo fades into its tile. RefVid keeps the original, and the video model sees the cropped photo.

  7. The crop dialog reopened on the original screenshot with the last 1:1 crop, and Reset to original beside Cancel and Apply
    7

    Reopen or reset

    Crop again starts from the original, with your last crop on it; Reset to original brings the whole photo back. New element keeps the photos, the crop and your words across a page refresh.

  8. The home page box with its photo pile spread out: Replace and Crop side by side on a perfume photo
    8

    The same in the home page box

    In the box on the home page, point at the photo pile to spread it out. Each photo has Replace and Crop side by side.

Transcript

A phone screenshot brings the status bar and buttons into your video. Crop it down to the product, right inside RefVid.

Open the studio and click New element. Add a product photo. This one is a phone screenshot, status bar and all. RefVid spots the phone shape and offers a crop right away. New: paste a picture straight in with Cmd+V.

Hover a photo: Crop sits in the middle, and remove stays in the corner. Every photo has it, not just the main one.

Click Crop. The dialog opens on Original: the whole photo. Pick a shape and the box glides to it: 1:1, 9:16, 16:9, 3:4 or 4:3. Back on Original, pull a corner: the box resizes freely, and Original turns off. Or pull one edge to trim just that side. Make it too thin, and a yellow note warns it will be padded. Back in range, the note fades away. For a product, pick 1:1 and drag the box onto the bottle. In a shape, a corner keeps the ratio.

Apply, and the cropped photo fades into the tile. Open Crop again: it starts from the original, with your last crop. Reset to original brings the whole photo back. Crop it again: pick 1:1, drag the box up, and click Apply. Clean product photo, back in the tile.

Describe what should happen in the video. Now refresh the page. The photos, the crop and your words are all still here.

The home page box has it too. Hover the photo pile to spread it out. On each photo, Replace and Crop sit side by side.

Try it now at refvid.com/studio. Thanks for watching. Subscribe for the next tutorial.

Templates from this tutorial

Each one opens in the studio with your own subject in it.

Read next

Questions

Does cropping change the video's aspect ratio?

No. A crop changes only the reference photo. You pick the video's shape separately, in the box's settings, so a square crop of the product can still become a vertical or a wide video.

Can I remove status bar from screenshot photos in RefVid?

Yes. Click Crop on the photo and frame only the product, leaving out the status bar, the app's buttons and the price; 1:1 suits most products. RefVid offers the crop by itself when a photo has a phone screenshot's shape.

Is the original photo lost when I crop?

No. RefVid keeps the original. Opening Crop again starts from it with your last crop, and Reset to original brings the whole photo back.

Why does the crop say it will be padded?

A crop longer than 2.5 : 1 is more stretched than the video models take, so RefVid pads it to fit. Widen the box or pick a shape and the note fades. A crop under 300 px can't be applied.