When you edit an image in the CMS there should be an extra 'Focus Point' field. Click on the subject of the image to set the focus area and save the image.
Use just like existing cropping functions but swap out the names:
$Fill
-->$FocusFill
$FillMax
-->$FocusFillMax
$CropWidth
-->$FocusCropWidth
$CropHeight
-->$FocusCropHeight