What the 3:4 aspect ratio means
A 3:4 picture is 3 parts wide for every 4 parts tall, for example 1080 × 1440 px. It is a 4:3 phone photo held upright.
| Use | Size in pixels |
|---|---|
| Instagram profile grid | 1080 × 1440 |
| iPad screen, upright | 1536 × 2048 |
Where 3:4 is used
Phones take upright photos in 3:4. Instagram shows posts in the grid of a profile as 3:4 tiles, and an iPad held upright is 3:4 as well.
A post that looks right in the grid
A 3:4 picture fills its tile in the Instagram grid without anything being hidden. Pictures in other shapes are cut there to fit; cropping to 3:4 lets you decide what shows.
Cropping is not resizing
Cropping cuts off the edges that do not fit the new shape; nothing is squeezed or stretched. Resizing only changes the number of pixels. This tool does both in one go: it cuts the photo to the ratio, then saves it at the size you pick, or with every pixel of the crop under “Original”.
When the photo itself is the problem
A crop cannot fix a photo that is too small, too dark or cut off at the forehead. If you need a portrait and have no good one, a professional headshot made from a few selfies gives you one that fits any frame.