Recommended Photo Guide: Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram – Profile Picture Size, Cropping, Pixels, Resolution, Aspect Ratio, Zoom
As a professional photographer based in San Francisco, I realize how hard it is for people to capture good, natural photos for their profiles. Once you capture that perfect shot, the worst thing to happen is to have it be distorted or cropped awkwardly when trying to apply it to other platforms.
I created this social media dimensions photo cheat sheet for you when planning on hiring a photographer, things to discuss with your web designer and things to consider to get the most out of your investment with photos.
Social Media Dimensions: Twitter Cover Photo Size, Linkedin Profile Picture Size & More
Most social media platforms have their own unique set of recommended sizes, aspect ratios (length to width ratios), maximum sizes, pixel minimums – those I will get into this later on in this post.
Your profile picture photos should be clear enough so that when you upload them to any app they will not become distorted, cropped too tight or unnecessarily blurred because it is too small.
For those that have managed to get good photos for their profile, the last thing you want to do is let these good photos go to waste because you uploaded a photo that was too small or did not add an appropriate border to prevent unwanted cropping or tried to stretch out a photo to meet minimum requirements for outlets used.
Most platforms prefer a square image for profile photos but it is always good practice to keep full size (uncropped) around in case you need photos for new unforeseen reasons.
Headshot Sizes: Headshot Dimensions, Headshot Aspect Ratios, Headshot Photo Sizes
Requirements for headshot sizes will vary depending on the outlet, platform. For Linkedin, you can review specific requirements below. For website, press releases or other outlets, generally people in charge will demand a rather large photo that can then be edited, resized accordingly by marketing or communications.
I resize photos to about 600 x 400 pixels roughly for most sites, purposes but others will have different requirements, preferences. Always save a copy of high-resolution photos even if you don’t use the sizes for Linkedin, social media.
LinkedIn Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Linkedin Aspect Ratio: 1:1
Minimum Recommended Pixels: 400×400
Maximum Size: 7680 (w) x 4320 (l) and 8MB.
Zoom Recommendations: Most people suggest cropping around the 2nd button of a shirt (upper chest) with about your face and shoulders taking up 60-75% of the frame. Anything above 85% of the frame is generally too close.
Recommended Pixels: ~600 to 800pixels. This is really dependent on how much space you have around your face/body frame and how much you wish to keep. The more space you have the larger the photo can be. If you upload photos larger that this then you run the risk of photos taking up too much space on a screen if someone clicks on your photo to zoom in.
Just because it fits in the cropped area doesn’t mean people can access the full size photo!
A circular crop is applied to photos. With that in mind, if you take portrait style photos, you may run the risk of not having enough space for a crop (which is why I prefer landscape headshots and capture both orientations for most versatility).
Make sure you hire a photographer who will maintain extra space for your final shots as crops and other needs for photos (press, blogs etc. usually require additional space in photos) beyond those of Linkedin profile pic sizes.
Pro-tip: LinkedIn Profile Tips.
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LinkedIn Background Cover Photos Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes
LinkedIn Background Aspect Ratio: 1.1 up to 1.9 to 1 (circular crop to 1:1)
LinkedIn File Type: JPG, PNG
Linkedin Profile Picture Size (Photo Dimensions / Linkedin Image Dimensions): The LinkedIn Recommended Background Pixels is set at 1584×396. If you have a photo that is larger, generally that is fine as long as the ratio is relatively similar. If your photo is taller than the recommended ratio, it will be cropped if uploaded.
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Twitter Profile & Header Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Recommended Sizes
These are the recommended sizes for Twitter banner specs and more…
Aspect Ratio: 1.1 up to 1.9 to 1 (circular crop to 1:1)
Recommended Twitter Profile Photo Pixels (Twitter Profile Picture Size): 400×400 pixels
Recommended Twitter Background (aka Twitter Header Size, Twitter Cover Photo Size), Header Photo Pixels: 1500 x 500 pixels
Maximum Size: 2MB
File Type: JPG, PNG, GIF
Pro-tip: Additional info on Twitter photo sizes.
Twitter Video Length: 2 minutes, 20 seconds
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Pinterest Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Aspect Ratio for Pinned Photos: 2:3
Pinterest Profile Cover Photo Aspect: 16:9
Recommended Pinterest Profile Photo Pixels: 180×180 to 600×600
Recommended Pinterest Header Photo Size: 10MB
File Type: JPG, PNG, GIF
Pro-tip: Pinterest is pushing for larger photo sizes so 1,000px minimums are being suggested.
Pinterest Video Specifications
File Size: 2GB max
Video Length: 4 seconds – 15 minutes
Pinterest Story Pin Dimensions, Size, Length & More
-Story Pins’ aspect ratio is 9:16, but there are no restrictions for image or video
-Image Types: .BMP, .JPEG, .PNG, .TIFF, .WEBP
-Video Files: .MP4, .MOV, .M4V
-Android and iOS: 16mb recommended
-Web: 32mb maximum for images and 50 mb for videos
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Instagram Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Here are the recommended sizes for Instagram Profile Pics, and other media posts.
Recommended Instagram Aspect Ratio: 1.91:1 and 4:5.
Recommended Instagram Photo Pixels: 1080 pixels wide
Minimum Pixel Sizes: 566 x 320 (h x w) up to 1350 x 1080 (h x w)
Instagram Story Dimensions: 1920 x 1080 (h x w)
Instagram Video Time Lengths: Post (60 seconds), Story (15 seconds), Live Video / IGTV (60 minutes). Instagram Video Length
Instagram Reels: 30 Second Length
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YouTube Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Recommended YouTube Profile Picture Size: 800 pixels x 800 pixels
Recommended YouTube Channel Art / Banner Size: 2560 pixels x 1440 pixels
Recommended YouTube Thumbnail Video Size: 1280 pixels x 720 pixels
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Zoom Profile Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Zoom Photo Size: 2MB,
Zoom Photo Types: JPG, PNG or GIF
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Slack Profile Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Zoom Photo Dimensions: 512×512 pixels to 1024×1024 pixels
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Facebook Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Recommended Aspect Ratio: Cropped to 1:1.
Recommended Facebook Profile Picture Size: 170 x 170 minimum
Recommended Facebook Page Cover Photo: 820 x 312 but will be displayed at 640 x 360 for smartphones.
Recommended Facebook Event Photo Size: 1200 x 628 (1.91 to 1 ratio).
Recommended Facebook Group Cover Picture Size: 1640 x 859 pixels.
Pro-tip: Loads fastest as an sRGB JPG file that’s 851 pixels wide, 315 pixels tall and less than 100 kilobytes.
For profile pictures and cover photos with your logo or text, you may get a better result by using a PNG file.
Facebook Photo Size Help Page: https://www.facebook.com/help/125379114252045
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Website Photo Dimensions, Aspect Ratios, Minimum Sizes, Recommended Sizes
Recommended Aspect Ratio: 1.91 to 1 and 1 to 1.91 or 1:1 depending on design of the website
Recommended Photo Pixels: 400 x 400 to 600 x 600.
Website photos will vary but most designers and marketers will ask for highest resolution possible (easier for editing, adding space if needed) but ultimately will be shrunk for optimization (page speed).
Page speed is a significant factor in SERP’s (search engine results pages). Depending on other items on your page, css/js, other photos, graphics etc. you may want to keep the images as small as possible without resolution lost. Most people use Photoshop which has a feature to save images for web (better than just a regular jpg file saved with MSPaint).
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Medical Students ERAS Residency Application Photo Requirements
Dimensions: 3.5 x 2.5 inches
Resolution: 150 dpi (dots per inch)
File Size: 100kb
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Emailing and Texting Photos
If your friend took a photo on their phone and you are looking to get a photo from them to use for your dating profile, ask them to email it to you vs texting it to you because texting photos will reduce photo size and quality greatly to speed up send time.
Don’t rely on screenshots either as that will constrict the size of the photos even more.
Reducing Photo Sizes That Are Too Large
Most DSLR cameras will provide photos larger than this anywhere from 6mb to 15mb or more. In order to use high quality photos, you need to use a photo-editing tool to reduce the size of your photos.
MSPaint and Adobe Photoshop are great options on your laptop. I recommend desktop software tools vs. mobile apps mainly for privacy and security reasons (especially as of late).
Getting Full Size Photos / Backing Up Original Photos
With many photo-sharing, photo-editing, camera apps out there, it can be difficult to manage all your photos. I like using the Google Photos auto backup feature because you can back up original photos or at least photos at a large enough size that you can use later. These photos are sorted by output i.e. Facebook, Instagram etc.
If you try to download a photo from Facebook it will likely be done so at a reduced size and resolution quality. Keeping a backup of the original photo will be helpful if you decide to print photos, or use them later on.
Make sure you keep full size photos from a photoshoot as the recommendations and requirements can change over time. Most people will need a couple different versions of logos, background images, cover photos and profile photos to optimize against all social media platforms and websites.
Zooming in / Cropping Photos: Photo Cropper Online
For standard photos, most profile photos are standard headshots (from the upper chest up) and as such, your face and frame should not comprise more than 60-75% of the frame. Too often people will take photos that are cropped and are way to close (90-95% of the frame). You want enough space so the photo doesn’t seem to in your face.
For photos that are half-body and full-body photos, there will obviously be more empty space in the frame but you don’t want too much. You should aim for 40-60% of the frame in these photos.
When it comes to cropping headshots, most images should be cropped just below the shoulders around the armpit area. Depending on the angle and person, there is room for adjustment but formats for Linkedin might limit your options.
For privacy reasons, I do not recommend using online photo cropping tools. Your photo should have a good enough tool in the photos app. Similarly a basic desktop program like MSPaint is suffice.
Camera Settings: Best Modes, Basic Settings, Portrait Mode
When it comes to taking photos, be sure to use your back camera of your phone instead of the front facing one. The back cameras on mobile phones often come with 2 different cameras and the one in front is usually a lower quality camera. Using the back camera is recommended to preserve the best size and quality for your photos.
Check your camera app settings to make sure your photos are being taken/saved at the highest resolution. There are usually several options for photos on your phone depending on the amount of space you have so be sure to do a quick check to make sure you are taking and saving photos with the highest quality dimensions.
Portrait mode on camera phones are usually too over the top and blur too much. I don’t typically recommend using the tool if you want a natural looking feel to photos.
Recommended Compression, Resizing Tool, Online Photo Crop, Online Image Resizer
About Eddie Hernandez
Eddie is a professional photographer in SF w/ clients internationally. He balances approachability & professionalism, focusing on wardrobes, appearance, location scouting.