Every platform crops your photo to fit its own layout whether you plan for it or not — the only choice is whether you control the framing yourself first, or let an automatic center-crop decide for you. Here's a working reference for the ratios that come up most often.

Square — 1:1

Profile photos across almost every platform — LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Slack, Google accounts — display as a circle or square regardless of the shape uploaded. Cropping to square yourself, centring your face rather than your shoulders, gives a much more predictable result than uploading a rectangular photo and hoping the auto-crop picks the right area.

Landscape — 16:9

Video thumbnails, YouTube channel art, and most link-preview images use widescreen 16:9. If you're cropping a photo for a blog post header or a video thumbnail, this is the standard shape to target.

Standard photo — 4:3 and 3:2

4:3 is the classic point-and-shoot and older display ratio, still common for printed photos and some marketplace listings. 3:2 is the native ratio for most DSLR and mirrorless cameras and shows up often in photography portfolios and print sizes like 4×6 inches.

Crop freehand or lock to 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, or 16:9 with a live preview.

Open the photo tool

Portrait crops for stories and reels

Instagram Stories, Reels, and TikTok use a tall 9:16 frame — the inverse of the 16:9 landscape ratio. If your source photo is landscape, cropping to 9:16 usually means losing a significant amount of the sides, so it's worth choosing a source photo with your subject already reasonably centred.

When to use Free instead of a fixed ratio

Fixed ratios are useful when you know exactly where the image is going. If you're just removing a distracting background element or tightening the framing without a specific platform in mind, a free-form crop gives you full control over the shape without forcing a ratio that doesn't fit the photo.

Frequently asked questions

What ratio should a LinkedIn profile photo be?

Square (1:1) — LinkedIn, like most profile photo systems, displays it in a circular or square frame regardless of the shape you upload, so cropping to square yourself gives you control over the framing.

What if a platform doesn't match any standard ratio?

Use the Free option to draw an exact custom selection, or crop to the closest standard ratio — most platforms will center-crop slightly rather than reject a near-match.

Use the Image Cropper to crop freehand or to any of these standard ratios, with a live preview before you download.