How to make a photo fit a frame it wasn't taken for
Don't crop it — grow it. Cropping solves the shape by throwing away part of the picture, and there is a way round that: keep everything you photographed and add more scene around it until it fits.
The problem with cropping
You bought the frame, or the canvas size, or you measured the gap on the wall. The photo is a different shape, and the usual answer is to crop it — which is fine until the thing you have to cut off is somebody's shoulder.
Portrait photos into wide frames are the worst of it. A picture taken upright has to lose most of its height to become a landscape, and what goes first is usually the top of someone's head or the bottom of the group.
Cropping in reverse
Everyone knows what cropping does: you pick a shape and lose whatever falls outside it. Expand is the same idea backwards.
You pick a shape and the picture grows to fill it. Everything you photographed stays exactly where it is, and the new shape is made by adding rather than trimming — more beach, more sky, more room, matched to the light and colour of what is already there.
It's why the shape you started with is the one option you can't choose. There would be nothing to add.
Choose the shape the frame needs
There are seven, from square through to tall, including the standard photo proportions — so you can match a frame you already own rather than working out what will fit.
Each one shows you how much it will add before you commit. Some pairings only add a narrow strip down two sides, and when that happens it is usually a sign that a different shape suits your photo better.
You can say what goes there, or say nothing
Filling in what appears in the new space is optional. Leave it empty and the scene carries on by itself, which is the right choice most of the time.
Fill it in when you have something particular in mind — more of the garden rather than more of the fence, sky rather than the building behind it.
Then size it and print it
Now that it fits, what size canvas goes above a sofa covers how big to go, and canvas, metal or poster covers what to print it on.
Enhance goes last, after the shape is settled — expanding rebuilds the picture at its own size, so enlarging first throws that detail away. There's more in why your photo won't print big.
Frequently Asked Questions
My photo is portrait and my frame is landscape — can that work?
Yes, and it's the most common reason people use it. Rather than cutting the height down, the sides are extended until the picture is the shape you need, so nobody loses their head or their feet.
Will the added part look stuck on?
There's nothing stuck on. The new shape is generated as one whole picture rather than as strips pasted onto the edges, which is why there's no seam to find.
How much can it add?
Each shape tells you before you choose it. If the one you want only adds a narrow strip, that is worth noticing — a different shape will usually suit the photo better than forcing that one.
Can I use it to fix a photo I cropped too tightly?
Yes. Giving a subject room to breathe is the same operation as changing the shape, and it's a good fix for a photo taken from too close when stepping back wasn't an option.
Should I expand before or after everything else?
Before Enhance, and generally before you settle on a print size — the shape decides which sizes make sense. If you're also repainting or editing, do those first and expand the version you're keeping.
What does it cost?
Expand is charged per run. Current costs for every tool are on the pricing page.