How to Crop a Webcam in OBS

To crop a webcam in OBS Studio, hold Alt (Option on macOS) and drag an edge of the camera source in the preview. You can also type exact values in Edit Transform, or add a Crop/Pad filter to the camera source. All three trim the image inside OBS only. The webcam itself still captures its full view. Other apps see the cropped version only if you send it to them through the OBS Virtual Camera.

Which cropping method to use

• Alt-drag (Option-drag on macOS): the quickest way to crop by eye in the preview.
• Edit Transform: lets you type precise crop values in pixels for the left, right, top and bottom edges.
• Crop/Pad filter: attaches the crop to the camera source, so it applies in every scene that uses that source. You can switch it on and off with its eye icon.
• Alt-drag and Edit Transform both change the same per-scene crop setting. If you use the camera in several scenes, each scene can have its own crop. A filter crop follows the source everywhere.

Before you start

• Add the webcam to a scene as a Video Capture Device source (on macOS it may be listed as macOS Screen Capture's neighbor, Video Capture Device).
• Confirm the preview shows live video. A black or frozen source is a camera-access or capture problem, not a cropping problem. Fix that first.
• In the source's properties, set the resolution to the highest your camera offers if you plan to crop tightly. Cropping discards pixels, so starting with more gives you more to keep.

If the source stays black, check two things. First, make sure no other app, such as a video-call program, is using the camera. Second, confirm the operating system allows OBS to use the camera. On Windows this is under Settings, Privacy & security, Camera. On macOS it is under System Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera. Seeing live video in the OBS preview confirms that OBS can access and capture the camera. It does not tell you how the image will look in a recording or call.

Method 1: Crop by dragging in the preview

• 1. Click the webcam source in the Sources list or in the preview. A red bounding box with handles appears around it.
• 2. Hold Alt (Option on macOS) and drag an edge handle inward. The trimmed part disappears, and the cropped edge is outlined in green instead of red.
• 3. Repeat for the other edges you want to trim.
• 4. Release Alt and drag a corner handle to resize the cropped image. Corner handles keep the proportions; edge handles stretch the image.
• 5. Drag the image into position on the canvas.

Check: the preview shows only the area you kept, and the green edge marks show where the crop is applied. If you dragged without holding Alt, you resized or stretched the image instead of cropping it. Press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on macOS) to undo, or use Reset Transform as described below.

Method 2: Enter exact crop values with Edit Transform

• 1. Right-click the webcam source and choose Transform, then Edit Transform. The shortcut is Ctrl+E (Cmd+E on macOS).
• 2. Under Crop, enter how many pixels to remove from the Left, Right, Top and Bottom.
• 3. Adjust Position, Size or the bounding box settings in the same window if you need to.
• 4. Close the window. The changes apply immediately.

Check: the preview updates as you type, and reopening Edit Transform shows the values you entered. Values are counted in the camera's own pixels, not canvas pixels. If you later change the camera's resolution, the same numbers will remove a different share of the image.

Method 3: Add a Crop/Pad filter

• 1. Right-click the webcam source and choose Filters.
• 2. Under Effect Filters, click the plus button and choose Crop/Pad. Give it a name and confirm.
• 3. Enter pixel values for Left, Top, Right and Bottom. Alternatively, untick Relative to enter an absolute region by position, width and height.
• 4. Close the Filters window, then resize and position the source on the canvas as needed.

Check: the filter's preview shows the cropped image. Clicking the eye icon next to the filter toggles the crop off and on. If the source already had a transform crop, both crops now apply. Reset one of them if you see more trimmed than you expected.

Fit the cropped webcam to the frame

After cropping, right-click the source and open Transform for quick sizing options. Fit to Screen (Ctrl+F) enlarges the image as far as it can go without distorting it. Stretch to Screen fills the canvas exactly but distorts the image if the shapes differ. Center to Screen moves the image to the middle. Reset Transform (Ctrl+R) removes the transform crop and any resizing, giving you a clean starting point. It does not remove a Crop/Pad filter.

Enlarging a tight crop to fill the canvas upscales the remaining pixels, so the image looks softer. To keep it sharper, crop less, set the camera to a higher resolution, or show the webcam smaller, for example as a corner overlay. The canvas size is under Settings, Video. This guide does not give a target resolution, because the right figure depends on your camera and output and was not available in the source material.

Confirm the crop where it matters

• Recording: make a short test recording and play it back. This confirms the crop is part of the output, not just the preview.
• Streaming: the stream uses the Program view. If you use Studio Mode, transition your edited scene to Program before you check.
• Video calls: click Start Virtual Camera in the Controls panel, then choose OBS Virtual Camera as the camera in your call app. The call app's self-view should show the cropped image. A correct self-view confirms that the crop reaches the call app. It does not confirm what other people receive, because call quality also depends on the connection and the app's own compression. Ask someone on the call or use the app's test-call feature to check that.

If the call app still shows the uncropped camera, it is probably using your physical webcam directly rather than the OBS Virtual Camera. Check its camera selector. Some apps also mirror your self-view; that affects only your own display, not the crop.

Cropping and autofocus hunting

Autofocus hunting is when the camera repeatedly shifts focus in and out instead of settling. Cropping in OBS does not change how the camera focuses, because the crop is applied after capture. The camera still sees and focuses on its full view, so it may lock onto something you have cropped away, such as a bright window or movement behind you. A tight crop also makes any focus pumping or softness more noticeable.

• Add more light on your face. Autofocus tends to hunt more in dim light and on low-contrast scenes.
• Reduce movement and clutter in the full camera view, not just the cropped area.
• If focus keeps drifting, turn off autofocus and set focus manually, if your camera allows it. On Windows, open the source's properties and click Configure Video. Many cameras show a Focus control with an Auto checkbox on the Camera Control tab. On Linux, supported controls usually appear directly in the source properties. On macOS, OBS often has no focus control, so you may need the camera maker's software.
• Check: watch the preview for a minute while moving naturally. Focus should stay on your face without visible pulsing.

Whether manual focus is available depends on the camera and its driver. The source material contained no model-specific information, so this guide cannot confirm which cameras offer it.