Choosing the Right Aspect Ratio for Every Platform
Square, portrait, story or widescreen? A practical cheat sheet for picking dimensions before you spend a credit.
Aspect ratio is a composition decision, not a technical afterthought. Generating at the ratio you will actually publish at means the model composes for that frame — instead of you cropping the subject's head off later.
The cheat sheet
- 1:1 — Instagram feed, avatars, e-commerce tiles, and anything that must survive heavy cropping.
- 4:5 — the highest-performing portrait format for feeds; more vertical space without being cut off.
- 9:16 — Stories, Reels, Shorts, TikTok, phone wallpapers.
- 16:9 — YouTube thumbnails, blog headers, presentation slides, website heroes.
- 3:2 and 2:3 — classic photography ratios for print and Pinterest.
- 3:4 — character sheets and full-body subjects.
Design for the crop you cannot control
Social platforms crop previews aggressively. Keep the subject inside the middle 80% of the frame and use the outer edges for atmosphere, not information.
Leave room for words
If a headline or logo is going on top of the image, say so in the prompt: 'generous negative space on the left for a headline'. Asking for the space up front is far cheaper than regenerating six variations and hoping one works.
In the generator, choosing a Purpose sets a sensible ratio automatically — pick Instagram, YouTube Thumbnail or Presentation and the canvas follows.
Keep reading
How to Write Better AI Image Prompts
A repeatable structure for prompts that produces sharper, more predictable images — plus the words that quietly ruin your results.
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