How to make an image square
Crop to fill when the subject is centred; pad to fit when nothing can be cut.
Updated September 1, 2026
A square is the default aspect ratio for profile pictures, feed posts, album art and most marketplace listings. Photos, meanwhile, are almost never square — phones shoot 4:3, cameras shoot 3:2, and something has to give.
There are exactly two acceptable answers, and one unacceptable one. Crop away the excess, or pad the gap. Never stretch: a squashed face or a distorted product is instantly recognisable as a mistake.
Steps
- 1
Choose crop or pad
Crop to fill when the subject is comfortably inside the middle of the frame. Pad to fit when the image must stay whole — a full-body shot, a wide product, a piece of artwork.
- 2
If cropping, frame it deliberately
Lock the crop ratio to 1:1 and drag the selection so the subject sits where you want it. Do not let the tool centre-crop by default and take the top off someone’s head.
- 3
If padding, choose the colour carefully
White reads as clean and is required by most marketplaces. Black looks cinematic. A colour pulled from the image itself can look deliberate rather than like a fallback.
- 4
Export at the right size
1080 × 1080 for social platforms. Marketplaces want more — 2000 × 2000 for Amazon and Etsy, 1000 × 1000 for Shopee.
Leave breathing room around the subject
Platforms sometimes apply their own crop on top of yours. Do not put anything important right at the edge.
Be consistent across a set
A grid of images that all use the same treatment looks intentional. A mix of cropped and padded looks careless.