How to Resize Your Webcam in OBS Studio

Resizing your webcam in OBS Studio is a straightforward process that allows you to adjust its appearance, integrate it seamlessly into your scene, and even zoom or crop to focus on specific areas. OBS provides multiple intuitive methods for this, from simple drag-and-drop to precise numerical adjustments.

Quick Resizing in the Preview Window

The most common and immediate way to resize your webcam is directly within the OBS Studio preview window.

1. Select Your Webcam Source: In the "Sources" dock, locate and click on your webcam source (usually named "Video Capture Device" or a custom name you assigned).
2. Click on the Image: Once your webcam source is selected, its feed will appear in the OBS preview window. As the reference indicates, "Click on the image" (your webcam feed) within the preview window. This will make a red bounding box with square handles appear around your webcam feed.
3. Resize by Dragging:
   • Proportional Resizing: Click and drag any of the red square corner handles inwards or outwards. This will resize your webcam proportionally, maintaining its original aspect ratio.
   • Non-Proportional Resizing (Stretch): Click and drag any of the red square side handles. This will stretch or squish your webcam image. While possible, it's generally not recommended as it can distort the video.
   • Free Transform: Hold down the Shift key while dragging a corner handle to resize freely, ignoring the aspect ratio.

Cropping Your Webcam Feed

Cropping allows you to cut off unwanted parts of your webcam's image, effectively "zooming in" on a specific area by removing the surrounding content. The video title "How to zoom and crop your webcam" highlights the importance of this feature.

1. Select Webcam Source: Ensure your webcam source is selected in the "Sources" dock.
2. Initiate Crop: Hold down the Alt key (or Option on Mac).
3. Drag to Crop: While holding Alt, click and drag any of the red square handles inward from the sides or corners. The bounding box will turn green, indicating you are cropping the image rather than resizing it. Release the Alt key and mouse button when satisfied.

Advanced Resizing, Zooming, and Positioning with Transform

For more precise control or specific adjustments like centering or fitting to screen, OBS's Transform options are invaluable.

1. Access Transform Menu:

   • Method 1: Right-click on your webcam source directly in the OBS preview window.
   • Method 2: Right-click on your webcam source in the "Sources" dock.
   • From the context menu, hover over "Transform" to reveal a sub-menu of options.

2. Common Transform Options:

   Transform Option	Description
   Fit to screen	Automatically scales your webcam to fit the entire canvas while maintaining its aspect ratio.
   Stretch to screen	Stretches your webcam to fill the entire canvas, potentially distorting the image if the aspect ratio doesn't match.
   Center to screen	Centers your webcam on the canvas without changing its size.
   Center Horizontally	Centers your webcam on the horizontal axis.
   Center Vertically	Centers your webcam on the vertical axis.
   Flip Horizontal/Vertical	Flips your webcam feed along the respective axis.
   Rotate 90/180/270	Rotates your webcam feed by the specified degrees.
   Edit Transform	Opens a detailed window (see next section) for precise numerical input for position, rotation, scale, and cropping.

Precise Adjustments with Edit Transform

The "Edit Transform" window provides the most granular control over your webcam's size, position, and cropping.

1. Open Edit Transform: Right-click your webcam source and go to Transform > Edit Transform.
2. Adjust Parameters: In the "Edit Transform" window, you'll find fields for:
   • Position: X and Y coordinates to precisely place your webcam on the canvas.
   • Rotation: Angle to rotate your webcam.
   • Scale: X and Y percentages to scale your webcam. Increasing these values beyond 100% will effectively "zoom in."
   • Size: Width and Height in pixels.
   • Crop: Top, Bottom, Left, and Right values in pixels to precisely crop your webcam feed.

Using Filters for Dynamic Control

For more advanced "zoom" effects, especially if you want to pan across a larger scaled image, OBS filters can be powerful.

1. Access Filters: Right-click on your webcam source in the "Sources" dock and select "Filters."
2. Add Effect Filter: Click the + button under "Effect Filters."
3. Useful Filters for Webcam Adjustment:
   • Crop/Pad: Offers numerical cropping similar to the "Edit Transform" window, useful for quickly applying specific crop values.
   • Scroll: While primarily for scrolling content, if you've scaled your webcam larger than the canvas, you can use the "Scroll" filter to effectively "pan" across the zoomed image.
   • Scale/Aspect Ratio: Provides a dedicated way to numerically scale your video.

By utilizing these methods, you can perfectly size, crop, and position your webcam in OBS Studio to create a professional and engaging stream or recording.