How to crop your photos for square photo magnets
Share
You’ve chosen a photo you love. Now it’s time to choose which part becomes your magnet.
When you upload your photo, a cropping box appears. Drag the box into position to select the part of the picture you want to keep.
Because the magnets are square, a tall or wide photo may lose some of its edges. Here’s how to find a crop that keeps what matters.
Start with the part you love most
Before moving the box, look at what made you choose the photo.
It might be someone’s expression, two people leaning into each other, or your dog’s face resting on the sofa.
Position the cropping box around that detail first. You don’t always need to keep the whole scene for the photo to bring the moment back.
Leave a little room around faces
Try not to position faces right against the edge of the cropping box.
A little breathing room around heads and faces can make the finished photo feel less cramped. Check the whole edge of the crop, not just the person in the middle.
For pet photos, remember to check ears and noses too.
Take extra care with group photos
Start by checking the people at either end of the group. Can everyone fit inside the square without cutting through a face?
Then look at how much space the people take up within the crop. If they’re very small in the original photo, their faces may be difficult to see on a magnet.
If the group won’t fit comfortably, another photo with everyone closer together may work better. A larger magnet gives the image more room, but it doesn’t change the square shape of the crop.
Decide how much background to keep
Sometimes the background is part of the memory.
The beach behind you. The front of your old home. The garden where the photo was taken.
Don’t feel you have to crop closely around a person if the setting matters too. Move the box until you have a balance of the subject and the surroundings you want to remember.
For a wide landscape, choose the part of the view you most want to keep. Not every wide photo will translate neatly into a square, and that’s okay.
Check the little details before moving on
Once you’ve positioned the box, take another look around the crop.
Have you kept the hand holding theirs? The pet tucked beside someone? The small detail that made you love this particular photo?
It’s easy to focus on faces and accidentally leave out something else that matters.
Also check that the photo looks clear. Cropping in on a small part of an image can make softness or blur more noticeable; it won’t create detail that wasn’t there in the original.
You don’t need a perfectly posed photo
A good crop isn’t about making every picture look like a studio portrait.
Someone can be laughing, looking away or halfway through a hug. The aim is to keep the part of the photo that feels like them, with enough room for it to sit comfortably inside the square.
I print and finish every order by hand here in Melbourne. The crop you choose helps show which part of your memory you want to bring into everyday life.
Ready to choose your photos? Explore my
because yesterday only happens once.