Today’s Question: When I click on the crop tool in the Develop module [in Lightroom Classic] I don’t get the usual “rule of thirds” grid. I get a series of diagonal lines similar to the rule of thirds. Also, if I drag one edge of the crop box two sides are moved rather than one.
Tim’s Quick Answer: You can change the overlay by choosing an option (such as Thirds) from the Tools > Crop Guide Overlay menu. To adjust one side of the crop box at a time, you can unlock the aspect ratio setting by clicking the padlock icon to the right of the Aspect label on the right panel.
More Detail: There are a variety of overlay shapes available when using the Crop tool in Lightroom Classic, which can be selected from the Tools > Crop Guide Overlay menu while in the Develop module. There are a variety of options related to different composition concepts, such as Thirds for the rule of thirds or Grid to assist with proper alignment of horizontal or vertical lines.
In addition to being able to select an option from the menu, you can also cycle through the various options by pressing the letter “O” on the keyboard. Holding the Shift key while pressing the letter “O” will cycle through different orientations for overlay shapes that aren’t symmetrical.
When the aspect ratio for the Crop tool is locked, dragging a single edge will cause two sides to be adjusted, to maintain the selected aspect ratio. If you want to be able to crop freeform to any aspect ratio, such as by adjusting only one side of the crop box, you can turn off the aspect ratio lock. This control is represented by a padlock icon, with the shackle closed to indicate the feature is locked or open to indicate it is unlocked. Simply click on the icon to toggle the setting.
