The second step I like to perform after making a virtual copy is a crop. If I know I will only print this picture in a certain format size, I will crop to that size. Most of the time I crop to a 1:1 aspect. This means that I trim off the edges.

Note that cropping is only necessary if an image is scanned from a slide or film. Digital images have no rough edges. However, cropping a scanned image also has the advantage of making the image more comparable to the digital images. After cropping, all the library images will look the same.

Another added benefit of cropping is that the image is ready to make a slideshow or html page. Even if further development is desired, the image can be used in a slideshow to proof.