What is the image aspect ratio?
The aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between an image’s width and height. Different cameras shoot in different aspect ratios, so whether you’re using a digital camera, a 35mm film camera, or an iPhone, they can all vary. Understanding the image size and ratio is important because it affects how you compose your shot and what the print size will be.
Note that the aspect ratio of an image refers to its dimensional ratio but not the actual resolution or total pixels the image contains. A square 1:1 shot could be 500 x 500 pixels or it could be 2500 x 2500 pixels.
- Adobe Website
Why Do Aspect Ratios Matter?
Aspect ratios are more than numbers, they influence the relationship between the subject and background in your images. Understanding aspect ratios will preserve the composition of your photos when printed.
Remember, when shooting photos, always keep the printed image in mind. As an example, 8"×10″ is the most common size for family portraits, so if you are shooting a portrait you will want to adjust for a 4:5 aspect ratio.
Mytogrpahy® offers prints in all of the popular aspect ratios as well as some of the not so common ones, providing you with many unique sizing options.
For most of you, much of this is common knowledge. To those who are new to photography, hopefully this brief introduction can serve as a starting point in your understanding of aspect ratios and how it relates to your photography. For now, you should have the tools you need to get started creating high resolution HD Metal Prints for yourself and your clients.
What are the most common aspect ratios for phtography?
Different applications call for different aspect ratios. Below is a brief break down of each of the aspect ratios Mytography® offers.
PHOTO UPLOAD OPTIONS
1:1 aspect ratio
This ratio means that an image’s width and height are equal, creating a square. The square format is the ratio of the classic Kodak image and is available as a choice in some digital and medium format cameras. It is popular with photographers using twin lens reflex cameras; medium format cameras that use 120 film rolled onto spools. Many Polaroid instant films were also designed as square formats. Additionally, it is the main aspect ratio for Instagram photos and is compatible with most social media sites.
SQUARE SIZES - 10 x 10 - 12 x 12 - 24 x 24
3:2 aspect ratio
3:2 landscape orientation / 2:3 portrait orientation
This ratio is most widely associated with 35mm photography and is still one of the main aspect ratios for printing. Full-frame DSLRs and APS-C crop sensor cameras have 3:2 sensors. In situations where framing is more deliberate or where you have a primary and secondary subject, 3:2 works well. Where this aspect ratio may be underserving, is when you have too much free space in the sky or foreground. If you don't have a lot of details in the background or foreground, you may want to look at the 4:3 ratio.
LANDSCAPE SIZES - 18 x 12 - 24 x 16 - 36 x 24
PORTRAIT SIZES - 12 x 18 - 16 x 24 - 24 x 36
4:3 aspect ratio
4:3 landscape orientation / 3:4 portrait orientation
This ratio is the most common aspect ratio in digital photography. Most mobile phone cameras (responsible for a majority of digital images today) use 4:3 sensors . In 2008 Panasonic and Olympus started to produce cameras in a micro four thirds standard that offer the quality of an SLR with the compactness of a point-and-shoot.
LANDSCAPE SIZES - 12 x 9 - 16 x 12 - 24 x 18 - 32 x 24
PORTRAIT SIZES - 9 x 12 - 12 x 16 - 18 x 24 - 24 x 32
4:5 aspect ratio
4:5 portrait orientation / 5:4 landscape orientation
This ratio is most common in photography, art prints, large and medium format film cameras. This format, both film-based and digital, is still used for many applications such as landscape photography, advertising photos, fine-art photography, scientific applications and generally for images that will be enlarged to a high magnification while requiring a high level of detail.
LANDSCAPE SIZES - 10 x 8 - 20 x 16 - 30 x 24
PORTRAIT SIZES - 8 x 10 - 16 x 20 - 24 x 30