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• Seals according to GOST (with the Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation), stamps, facsimiles
• Signs, banners
• Business cards, badges, numbers
• Souvenir products
• Printing drawings (A0, A1, A2, A3)
• T-shirt printing
• Printing A4 photos (posters), text (not typesetting), photo retouching
• Making custom signs
• Calendars, invitations, stickers, collages
• Copying, laminating, binding
• Laser engraving on plastic
• Printing on mugs
• Making magnets
• Printing certificates
• Certificates to order

Studios and printing houses are able to print photographs of different sizes - from miniature rectangles “for a passport” to solid photographs of 30x60 cm and non-standard options. It is not always clear which format to choose so as not to see digital “noise” on paper and get the same clarity as on a monitor. What are the photo formats for printing? How to navigate them taking into account a specific goal? This is discussed in our article.

Table of typical formats

International standards for the size of printed photographs have been set by photo paper manufacturers. The proportions in these standards do not correspond to the proportions in the matrices of digital cameras, which adds complexity to customers (who are accustomed to the A6...A0 marking for plain paper and are confused in other designations and tables) and printing workers (who have to adjust and manually crop images).

Print Format	Exact format size in mm	Photo resolution for printing 300dpi
9×13	89×127	1051×1500
10×15	102×152	1205×1795
13×18	127×178	1500×2102
15×20	152×203	1795×2398
15×21	152×216	1795×2551
20×30	203×305	2398×3602
30×40	305×406	3602×4795
30×45	305×457	3602×5398
30×90	305×914	3602×10795

Photo paper 10x15 cm approximately corresponds to a sheet of ordinary paper A6, 15x21 cm - A5, 30x30 - A4, 30x40 and 30x45 - A3, 30x60 - A2.

If the table of formats and sizes of photographs for printing has not brought clarity, and you can’t get the markings A6, A5, A4, A3... A0 out of your head, you should prudently order a larger photo and ask the printing house employees to crop it to the usual format.

For example: you want to get a full-color A6 size image with a resolution of 300 dpi. In this case, order a printout on 15x21 cm paper and cut off the excess, because... 10x15 format, close to A6, will be 2 mm smaller on one side than A6.

Visually, photo paper formats will look like this:

Purposes for printing a photo and standard photo sizes for printing in cm

• Eternal classic - 10x15 cm. Such a picture will fit in any family album and frame; people with average vision can easily see it; in a small room, a 10x15 cm image will look good on the wall, either alone or next to others.
• A4 (translated onto photographic paper - 20x30 cm) should be ordered for wall decoration. Both in a commercial interior and in a spacious room, the photo will look representative and bright.
• 30×40 and 40×50 cm are large images that should preferably be viewed from a distance. Typically, these sizes are chosen for interior design with an emphasis on decor. A resolution of 300 dpi, typical for small photographs, is not enough in this case: a large picture is visible to everyone at once, so it must be clear and free of “noise,” so it’s worth taking care of shooting with a modern digital camera.
• Printing portraits for documents involves using photo sizes for printing in cm. So, for a passport you will need a portrait of 3.7x4.7 cm, for issuing an ID - 3x4 cm, for obtaining a visa - 3.5x4.5 cm, for a standard pass - 6×9 cm.

Choose the paper correctly so you don’t have to worry about fitting a photo with wide white margins and don’t have to worry about how to get back that part of the image that didn’t fit. All printing houses, photo shops and websites usually provide format tables. You can also ask an employee for help through feedback on the website, by phone, or by contacting him personally upon arrival at the studio.

Photography is one moment of life that remains in memory for many years. Whatever happens, when you take a photograph in your hand, time seems to go back. Yes, you can’t return the past, but no one forbids you to remember!

Not a single person can imagine his life without photographs. Every important event should be captured on photographic paper. Even those who don't like taking photos for their own use can't refuse to have them on their documents. Sooner or later, everyone goes to a photo salon to take a passport photo or make a portfolio.

What are the sizes of photographs for printing?

Due to different purposes, there are several sizes of images, each of which performs a separate function. What are the sizes of photographs for printing? Since the popularity of this procedure is growing, there are, accordingly, quite a lot of formats. We are talking about small sizes - this is a passport photo in 3 by 4 format or a regular photo for a photo album 10 by 15 or 13 by 18.

Photography is not a vital thing. You can live without pictures, because all memories are stored in memory. But, thanks to advanced technology, we still have the opportunity to look at captured moments and remember the moments. It's amazing that such ideas appear in our heads.

To prolong a happy moment, they take a snapshot, be it a wedding or the birth of a child - everything is captured. Afterwards, you just need to print out the received photos and put them in your album. More recently, people used film, but now digital technologies have pushed it out of the sales market. The big advantage of progress is that the resulting image is visible immediately, that is, there is no need to wait and think about how the photo turned out.

Photos for documents

The most common type of photo is a passport photo, which has several requirements that must be met. One of the main ones is a 3 by 4 photograph. The size must comply with the standards, otherwise the documents will not be accepted for consideration.

When submitting a package of documents, government agencies require two photographs. This photo is taken within a few minutes and is completely ready for further use. In addition to the passport, photographs are often taken with student documents or a driver's license. A 3 by 4 photograph is printed, the size of which is identical to the passport version. Although it is worth considering that sometimes a 3.5 by 4.5 photo is accepted for a passport.

The photo salon knows all the regulations, so no need to worry. You just need to tell us which document you need to take a photo on. After all, photographers know what sizes of photographs there are for printing. Professionals in their field have a full hand, dozens of people pass through them every day.

Amateur photos

Among the common types, amateur photography is also distinguished. These are simple photographs that depict both people and nature. The most popular format is a 10 by 15 photograph. A standard size in which the outline of a person or object is clearly visible. Ideal for decorating a photo album.

These are not all formats. But the question arises, what are the sizes of photographs for printing? There are quite a lot of them, for example, you can select an A4 landscape photograph, or, speaking in the language of a photographer, 21 by 30 centimeters. This size is used for large photographs, usually with the aim of creating a portfolio, since all the features of a person are clearly visible on it. Photography 13 by 18 is also in demand - this is a slightly smaller format. Typically used to frame a portrait.

How do pixels affect the quality of a photograph?

Pixels are the smallest unit of size, in other words, the number of dots in an image. When there are few such points, the picture turns out blurry, with unclear contours. A large number of pixels makes the photo bright and clear; it can be enlarged to almost any size, for example, in 21 by 30 format.

The quality of the photograph and its size depend on the maximum resolution. Today there are almost no devices left that take low-quality pictures. Since even the most ordinary phones have a camera with two pixels in their arsenal.

This indicator determines in what format the photo can be printed in the future. Although such a standard size as 10 by 15 works anyway. The fewer pixels, the worse the quality of the photo. If the most ordinary photograph can be easily framed in size 10 by 15, then, for example, it will not be possible to enlarge it, since the picture will not be clear.

If you want to take high-quality professional photography, you need to contact a photo salon. A photographer, like no one else, knows how to direct the light correctly and will help you choose a beautiful pose. A professional will adjust the photo to the required format and print it on photo paper.

How to print a photo of the required size?

There are also two options for printing a photo. Although now such a service is in less demand, since many people are just on the computer. But, you can see that these are completely different feelings. After all, when you hold a photograph in your hand, it’s as if you are getting closer to the depicted moment.

In order to hold a photo in your hand, you need to print it, and this can be done in two ways: at home or in a salon. At home, photos are most often printed in a standard size of 10 by 15. But photos of a larger format cannot always be made of high quality, because this depends on the size of the photo paper and the capabilities of the printer.

Why are there so many photo sizes?

The fact is that various events happen in life that you would like to remember for a long time. The most ordinary photo format cannot convey the entire atmosphere. When you take a larger photo, for example in a 21 by 30 format, you immediately become a participant in those happy moments.

Time tirelessly runs forward, but thanks to the photo, a person remains unchanged. So you can experiment and frame the photo in different formats, then see which photo will fit most harmoniously into an album or apartment interior.

Basic terms for understanding the topic

Pixels

Small square dots, painted in a certain light, that make up a single whole - an image.

When you look at a photograph, the eye does not notice specific dots of the raster, since they are very small and their number can reach tens of thousands; they merge to form one picture. Only with magnification will you be able to see them.

There is a peculiarity: the higher the number of raster dots, the more details are drawn and the better the quality of the photograph.

Linear size

- this is data on the width and height of the printed image, expressed in millimeters. They can be recognized using a regular ruler. For example, the linear size of an image with parameters 10*15 cm is 102*152 mm.

Parameters in pixels are data about the width and height of a digital image.

Megapixels	Max. print format	Size in pixels
3	13x18	1500x2102
6	15x22	1795x2646
8	20x30	2304x3456
10	20x30	2398x3602
12	24x30	2835x3602
16	30x40	3602x4760
24	30x45	3602x5398

Permission

A number that relates values ​​in millimeters and pixels, measured in dpi (from the English “dots per inch” - the number of dots per inch).

Experts advise setting the resolution to 300 dpi, intended for obtaining high-quality photographs.

But it’s worth noting that if you take a photograph larger than the original, that is, “stretch the raster points,” then the quality drops.

Standard sizes

What photo formats are there? Let's find out.

The most popular print size is 10*15 cm. It is used to create a family archive.

The next one is 15*20 cm or A5.

A4, 20*30 cm or 21*29.7 cm. Used to decorate walls with photographs. Since A4 is the size of office printing paper, printing will not be difficult, since printers are mainly designed to produce A4.

30*40 cm - complex format. It has two other names: A3 or A3+. Why complicated? Because there is confusion. The A3 size has parameters of 297*420 mm, but such photo frames cannot be found, they are not on sale. The closest photo frame to this photograph is 30*40 cm. Be careful when ordering. Photo frames are made with glass.

Custom sizes

Often we have to order a photo that is not a standard size, but a unique one - non-standard.

13*18 cm. Used extremely rarely.

30*45 cm, 40*50 cm, 40*60 or 60*90 Pictures with these parameters will help decorate the interior, since they are quite large. Therefore, the quality must be high.

How to calculate dimensions for high resolution

You can calculate the parameters in pixels, which will result in a resolution of 300 units or more.
Let's take a closer look at the photo with parameters 10*15 cm.
The linear values ​​of these parameters (usually indicated in special tables) are 102 * 152 mm.
Let's multiply the width of the image (102 mm) by the resolution we want to achieve, in our case it is 300 dpi.
Let's divide the result of the last step by the number of mm in one inch - 25.4.
We get the number of raster points of the original image in width 102*300/25.4 =1205.
We will carry out the same algorithm for height.
152*300/25,4 = 1795.

Photo printing “with borders” and “without borders”

When we accept an order for photo printing, we always ask about the printing method - do you like it, “with margins” or “without margins”? We are talking about a way to crop photographs.
Let's explain in more detail:
The most common paper format for printing - 10x15 cm - has an aspect ratio of 2:3, and the image format of most modern digital cameras is 3:4. Therefore, when we try to print a “digital” photograph on 10x15 paper, there are two options:

A) We place the entire photograph on the paper, without cutting off anything - but due to the mismatch in proportions, we get “white margins” on both sides (most often on the short sides) - this is called

"PRINT WITH FIELDS"

.
B) The picture is stretched so that it fills the entire piece of photographic paper, and what is not included on the photographic paper is cut off automatically - this is called

"PRINT WITHOUT FIELDS"

.
Below are pictures to understand the situation.

When is it better to do “with margins”?

When there are significant elements of the photo located close to the edge - most often heads, or figures in group portraits. Or if you value every part of the photo, including the background. For example, for these photos it is definitely better to choose A - “print with margins”.

We are often asked: - “Can you print A4 photos?”

Of course, we can print photos in almost any size, but this issue requires clarification.

Photo paper formats differ from international ISO formats, but most often in everyday life we ​​operate with terms and sizes that are familiar to us, such as A4, Whatman paper, etc. Although photo paper formats and regular paper formats are quite similar, they are still different from each other.

Major photo formats have aspect ratios similar to those of modern digital cameras, 1:1.5 (2/3) or 1:1.33 (3/4). Standard international paper sizes have an aspect ratio of 1:1.4142, meaning they are not the same proportions. When printing on Noritsu minilabs, photo standards are used. The familiar photo frames and photo albums for storing photographs also meet photo standards.

This table shows the ratio of the photo formats we print to standard paper.

Photo format we print	Photo size in px	Photo size in mm	Aspect Ratio	ISO standard	ISO size in mm
10x15	1217x1807	103x153	2:3	≈A6	105x148
15x21	1807x2492	153x211	3:4	≈A5	148x210
20x30	2409x3614	204x306	2:3	≈A4	210x297
30x40	3614x4972	306x421	3:4	≈A3	297x420
30x45	3614x5410	306x458	2:3	≈A3	297x420
30x60	3614x7217	306x611	1:2	≈A2	420x594

Now let's look at each of the photo formats in detail. The popular 10x15 format is 2 mm smaller on one side than standard A6, and 5 mm larger on the other. Therefore, if you need exactly A6, you should order a 15x21 photo and trim off the excess manually.

Below you see how the 10x15 format compares with the well-known A4.

A 15x21 photo will be slightly larger than an A5 sheet. On one side by 5 mm, on the other by 1 mm. Therefore, if you need A5, feel free to order a 15x21 photo, you will cut off the excess.

Below you see the ratio of 15x21 to A4.

The 20x30 format is almost A4, but the photo is 6 mm smaller on one side and 9 mm larger on the other than A4. 20x30 and A4 are disproportionate.

Below is the ratio of a 20x30 photo to A4.

If you need A3, then choose a 30x40 photo. 30x40 is 9 mm on one side and 1 mm on the other more than A3. Feel free to order and cut it yourself =).

Below you see the ratio of 30x40 and A3.

Photo 30x45 is larger than A3. This can be seen in the picture below.

A 30x60 photo is difficult to compare with regular paper. 30x60 is significantly smaller than A2 (whatman paper) and significantly larger than A3. But this does not prevent 30x60 images from being popular among photographers.

Below you see the ratio of a 30x60 photo to A3.

Below is the relationship between photo formats.

I propose to consider what kind of animals these are - JPG and RAW photo formats, what they affect and when you should pay attention to them. What is photo size and file weight, how are they measured and what do they depend on.

Almost all photo cameras can save photos in JPG format (even phone and tablet cameras). In all SLR and non-SLR cameras, as well as in advanced compacts, in addition to JPG, there is at least RAW and RAW+, and sometimes TIFF.

To understand the formats, you first need to agree on what is meant by the concepts of “size” of a photograph and “weight” of a file (photo). I propose to consider these concepts on more tangible objects... for example, on goodies.

1 | What is a pixel:

The size of objects is measured in meters, the size of photographs is measured in pixels (px).

If you measure the size of this bowl of berries, it will be about 10 centimeters in height and about 13 centimeters in width... approximately. That is, we are used to measuring objects in centimeters (meters, kilometers, and so on). If we talk about the photo of the same vase, then the original size of the photo is 7360 pixels (px) wide by 4912 pixels (px) high. This is the maximum photo size that my Nikon camera is capable of. To post this photo on the website, the photo size was reduced to 1200px by 798px (I’ll tell you why a little later).

What is a pixel? Taken with digital cameras or digitized on a scanner, photographs are a combination of tiny colored squares - pixels. If you zoom in on any photo, you will see these pixels. The more such pixels in a photo, the more detailed the picture.

A photo fragment enlarged a thousand times - pixel squares are visible.

2 | Is it possible to convert pixels to centimeters:

This is exactly what happens when you need to print photos on paper. Here you will need one more indicator - the pixel density (resolution) that the printer (or other machine for printing photos) can print. The printing standard for photographs is 300 dpi (dots per inch). For example, for printing in beautiful glossy magazines, photos with a resolution of 300 dpi are used.

So that you don’t rack your brains over dividing the photo size by the resolution and converting inches into centimeters, any program for viewing and editing photos (for example, Photoshop) has a function for viewing the photo image size in centimeters. You will need it to understand the maximum size of a photo in good quality (with a resolution of 300 dpi) you can print on paper or other tangible media.

For example, this photo with tropical Frangispani flowers can be printed in size 61 cm by 32 cm.

Photo size in pixels and centimeters in Photoshop

To find out the photo size in pixels and centimeters in Photoshop, you need to press the key combination Alt+Ctrl+I or go to the Image menu Image size.

Let's return to the reality of digital photos - to pixels and photo sizes in pixels. What happens if you reduce the number of pixels in a photo? The answer is that the quality of the photo will deteriorate. For example, I took a photo of the same bowl of berries at the beginning of the article and reduced the size of the photo to 150 pixels wide. With this reduction, the program destroys some of the pixels. The photo has become miniature:

Now let’s try to “stretch” the photo across the entire page:

A stretched picture looks cloudy and fuzzy

As you can see, the detail is no longer the same, since some of the pixels (and with them the details) are missing.

Of course, if you use this reduced image as a small icon or a small image in a Power Point presentation, it will look quite normal, but it is clearly not suitable for printing in a half-page magazine.

3 | What photo size (how many pixels) is optimal:

If you plan to print photos someday, then save photos in the highest possible resolution, which your camera will only allow (carefully read the instructions for your camera to correctly adjust the photo size).

In some cases, you need to reduce the size of photos. As I wrote above, for the site I reduce the photo size to 1200 pixels on the long side. If you upload a photo in full size, the site pages will take a very long time to load, and many visitors may not like this (not to mention the Google and Yandex search engines).

Photo sizes are measured in pixels (px). The number of pixels determines the size of the photo on monitor screens, and what size the photo can be printed.

4 | File size or "photo weight":

Now let's look at the "weight of the photograph". Historically, there has been a lot of confusion on this issue and the file size is quite often called the “weight of the photo,” which is more convenient than correct. File sizes are measured in megabytes (MB) or kilobytes (KB). And here it’s worth remembering that, unlike kilograms, where 1 kg = 1000g, 1 megabyte = 1024 kilobytes.

How this looks in practice: imagine the situation that your camera has a memory card that says 64GB (gigabytes). If you look at exactly how many bytes there are (right-click on “properties” on your computer), it turns out that there are 63567953920 bytes on this memory card and this is equal to 59.2 GB. How large the files your camera produces will determine how many photos will fit on that memory card. For example, I can fit 830 photo files in RAW format (read about formats below).

What determines the file size:

• Firstly, on the size of the photo (what is measured in pixels): the file with the first photo of berries (photo size 7360x4912 px) is 5.2 MB, and it, reduced to 150 px, will “weigh” 75.7 KB (in 69 times less).
• Secondly, on the format (JPG, TIFF, RAW), which you can read about below.
• Thirdly, the file size (or “photo weight”) depends on the number of details: the more there are, the “heavier” the photo (which is most relevant for the JPG format).

Many details - more weight of the photo

For example, in this photograph with monkeys from Sri Lanka there are many small, clear (in the language of photographers, “sharp”) details and the file size of this photograph is 19.7MB, which is significantly larger than berries in a vase on a white background (5.2MB).

If you ask what size photo can I print from a photo that weighs 2MB. No one can answer you until they know the number of pixels. And it’s better, of course, to also look at the photo, since some craftsmen like to get a photo from the depths of the Internet, increase the number of pixels programmatically, and then want to print it on the cover of a magazine. It turns out as in the example above with a stretched photo of a vase 150 px wide.

File size (often called "photo weight") is measured in megabytes (MB) or kilobytes (KB) and depends on the format, pixel size, and detail of the photo.

5 | Photo formats:

And finally, we come to the issue of image formats and type of file compression, which also determine the size of the photo file.

Almost all photo cameras can save photos to JPG format(even cameras on phones and tablets). This is the most common image format and is “understood” by all computers and image viewing programs. In JPG format, photos can be uploaded to social networks, posted on a blog, added to Word, Power Point files, and so on. JPG can be processed in Photoshop, Lightroom and other image editing programs.

From my practice: if I want to take a photo for a social network and quickly upload it, then I either take a photo with my phone or set the file format to jpg in my camera.

Something to remember about the jpg format is that it is a compressed format and has compression levels. The higher the compression ratio, the smaller the file size due to the reduction in detail and quality of the photo. Therefore, it is not recommended to repeatedly edit and resave (re-compress) the same photos in jpg format.

When saving a file in jpg format, the compression level is selected (example from Photoshop).

In all SLR and non-SLR cameras, as well as in advanced compacts, in addition to JPG, there is at least RAW, and often also TIFF.

A little theory:

• TIFF(English Tagged Image File Format) - a format for storing raster graphic images (including photographs). TIFF has become a popular format for storing images with high color depth. It is used in printing and is widely supported by graphics applications.
• RAW(English raw - raw, unprocessed) - a digital photography format containing raw data obtained from a photo matrix (the thing that replaced film in digital cameras).

Personally, I never shoot in TIFF format. I can’t even think of why I need this if there is RAW. I can use TIFF without compression to save photos that I still plan to modify in Photoshop.

6 | Advantages and disadvantages of the RAW format:

My camera is almost always in RAW format, since I plan to process (edit) photos in Lightroom or Photoshop. RAW has a number of significant disadvantages:

• There is no way to view files without first converting them. That is, to view photos in RAW format you need a special program that supports this image format.
• Larger file size than when saving in JPEG (with my Nikon D800 camera, the file size with a photo in RAW format is 74-77 MB). This means that fewer photos will fit on the flash drive.
• RAW cannot be uploaded to social networks, blogs, and sometimes even sent by mail. First, RAW needs to be converted to a RAW converter (for example, Adobe Camera Raw) that supports the file type from your camera model.

Why do professional photographers often prefer RAW over JPG? Because RAW:

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• provides more options for image correction: white balance, contrast, saturation, brightness and noise level,
• allow you to further correct images without the appearance of defects,
• allows fine correction of lens imperfections (vignetting, chromatic aberration).

So, if you plan to carefully process your photos in Photoshop or Lightroom, sensitively feeling “artifacts” and halftones, “overexposures” and “dips” in the shadows, then shoot in RAW. Just remember that to get a good result, you will need to understand the settings and operation of RAW converters. Think about whether you need this headache? Maybe you should shoot in JPG and spend more time relaxing and not on the computer?