What each way costs a 4000 × 3000 photo
| Ratio | Fill and crop | Pad | Stretch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | 3000 × 3000, cuts 1000 px | 4000 × 4000, adds 1000 px | 4000 × 4000, distorts 33.3% |
| 4:5 | 2400 × 3000, cuts 1600 px | 4000 × 5000, adds 2000 px | 4000 × 5000, distorts 66.7% |
| 3:2 | 4000 × 2667, cuts 333 px | 4500 × 3000, adds 500 px | 4000 × 2667, distorts 11.1% |
| 16:9 | 4000 × 2250, cuts 750 px | 5333 × 3000, adds 1333 px | 4000 × 2250, distorts 25% |
| 9:16 | 1688 × 3000, cuts 2312 px | 4000 × 7111, adds 4111 px | 4000 × 7111, distorts 137% |
Fill and crop never resamples here: it keeps original pixels and cuts. Pad keeps every pixel and adds area, labelled as added area in the receipt. Stretch keeps the width and resamples the height, so the picture’s proportions change by the percentage shown.
Limits
- No content-aware fill: padding is a flat colour or a blurred copy of the photo, never invented scenery.
- Stretch distorts faces and circles visibly beyond a few percent; prefer crop or pad for people.
Questions
How do I change the aspect ratio of a photo without stretching it?
Choose Fill and crop or Pad. Fill and crop keeps the largest part of the photo that has the new shape and cuts the rest, so nothing is distorted; Pad keeps the whole photo and adds bars (white, black or a blurred copy) to reach the shape. Only Stretch distorts, and the panel prints by how much.
Does changing the ratio make the picture smaller?
Not unless you ask. Each ratio opens at the photo's own scale: a crop keeps the original pixels, a pad adds area around them, and a stretch resamples only the height. Type a box size afterwards if you also need exact pixels.
Which part is cropped?
The centre is kept at first. Move the crop with the Across and Down sliders, and the shaded strips on the stage show what will be cut before you save.
Which ratio for Instagram, YouTube or a phone wallpaper?
1:1 for a square post, 4:5 for a portrait feed post, 16:9 for a video thumbnail or a slide, 9:16 for a story, a reel or a phone wallpaper, 3:2 for a standard 6 × 4 inch print.
Neighbouring measurements
Need an exact pixel box as well? Change the size in pixels. Posting? The Instagram and social pages hold each platform's size.
- Change image size in pixelsA box in pixels: fit inside, fill and crop, or stretch, with the factor printed.
- Resize an image for Instagram1080 px wide, padded without cropping or filled where you choose.
- Resize an image for social mediaWhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook, X and LinkedIn sizes, each labelled.
- Resize images for websiteOne photo to a set of widths in WebP and JPEG, with srcset markup.
