How to Resize Images on Mac

Photos are an integral part of the business world, and most people have to send them in emails, upload them to the company's blog or to an Amazon page. Photos are often too large to be uploaded or sent to anyone, which is the reason why non-professional photo editors frequently need a simple and easy way to resize a large number of images.

Most people think that in order to resize images you need to have a professional photo editing software, but in this article, we will show you how to resize images with apps that are already available to you on your Mac.

Method 1: Resize Images on Mac with Preview app

Regardless which version of Mac's operating system you have, Preview app is probably the quickest and the easiest way to resize images, since this app is available in all iterations of Mac OS and Mac OS X

Resize a single photo on Mac with Preview App

This app is often a default photo viewer on Mac computers so in order to open your photo in Preview app you just need to find the folder in which it is stored and double-click on it. Once the photo is displayed in the Preview app, click on the Tools menu and select the Adjust Size option.

Before proceeding to resize your photo, make sure that Scale Proportionally option is activated in order to ensure that the proportions of the photo remain unchanged. You can also choose whether you want the size of the picture is to be displayed in pixels, inches, centimeters or percentages and then just change the values in the Height and Width boxes. If you like the results you got, go to the File menu and click Save As option to finalize the process of resizing your photo.

Resize Images in Batches Using Preview App in OS X

It often happens that you need to resize more than just one photo, so instead of changing the size of each photo separately, you can resize as many photos as you want simultaneously in the Preview app. In order to start the batch resizing process, you first need to select all the photos you want to resize in the folder in which they are stored and then open them in the Preview app. After the photos are displayed in the app, go to the Edit menu and click on the Select All option.

Head over to the Tool menu, and select the Adjust Size feature. Change the values in the width or heigh boxes and make sure that the Scale Proportionally box is checked. Finally, go to the File menu and click on the Save As option to save the resized photos.

It is worth noting that the names of the commands may vary on different versions of Mac OS, but the batch resize process we described works on OS X Yosemite, Snow Leopard or any other Mac OS.

Method 2: Resize images through e-mail

All Mac computers have the E-mail app that allows its users to change the size of images before sending them. This app provides probably one of the fastest ways to resize images since all you have to do is drop the photo into the E-mail app, and select which picture size you want to use. Small, Medium or Large sizes are available, but in order to gain access to the resized image, you first need to send it. The app won't allow you to drag the resized photo from drafts, which means that E-mail app can't be easily used for resizing photos you want to upload on your blog or a social media account. 

Method 3: Crop and Resize Images on Mac with Preview

Changing the number of pixels a photo has isn't the only way to resize an image. Cropping is also a great way to change the size of a photo because it also allows you to remove parts of an image you don't like. Here's how you can crop a photo in Mac's Preview app

Step 1

Double-click on the photo you want to crop, in order to open it in the Preview app, and then click on the Markup icon to access the photo editor. 

Step 2

Once the Markup toolbar appears, click on the dotted rectangle icon, and select the Rectangular Selection option from the drop-down menu. The crop rectangle will appear on the photo, and you need to drag one of its sides in order to designate the area of the photo you want to crop.

Step 3

Click on the Crop button located in the upper right corner of the screen to remove and resize your photo. In the end, go to the File menu, and click on the Save As option to save the photo you cropped.