Image guides
Questions that come up around the tools, answered properly. Each one leads with the answer, then explains it for anyone who wants to know why.
What size should an email attachment be?
Aim for about 1 MB per photograph. That is comfortably inside every common limit even with several attached, and still looks sharp on a full screen. Drop to 500 KB if you are sending a batch, or if the recipient is on a corporate mail server.
Last checked 2026-09
How to compress an image without losing quality
For photographs, use JPEG at quality 80-90, or convert to WebP. You will typically save 60-80% with no difference visible at normal viewing size. Genuinely lossless compression only saves about 5-20%, and only for PNG.
Last checked 2026-09
Why PNG files are so large
PNG is lossless: it stores every pixel exactly, so it cannot throw away detail to save space. To make one smaller, either reduce how many distinct colours it stores - which is lossless for what remains and very effective on screenshots - or convert to JPEG or WebP if the image is a photograph.
Last checked 2026-09
What your photos reveal about you
Most phone photographs contain GPS coordinates accurate to a few metres, plus the camera model and a timestamp. Removing the metadata deletes all of that. It does not change what is visible in the picture itself.
Last checked 2026-09
How to resize images for a website
Resize to roughly twice the width it will be displayed at - 1600px wide for an 800px slot, to stay sharp on high-density screens - then compress to under 200 KB. Use WebP where you can, JPEG otherwise.
Last checked 2026-09
How to prepare a passport photo
Get the file right with a tool: the pixel dimensions, the file-size band, and whatever format your authority names. Then check the photograph yourself - plain light background, no shadow, neutral expression, both eyes open, nothing across the face, nothing retouched. The second list is where most rejections come from.
Last checked 2026-09
How to prepare product photos for marketplaces
Amazon: pure white background, product filling about 85% of the frame, 1,600px or more on the longest side. Etsy: at least 2,000px on the shortest side, under 1MB, square or 4:3 so the thumbnail crop does not take anything. eBay: 500px minimum and around 1,600px recommended, with no badges, logos or watermarks added. Shopify: up to 5,000px and 20MB, with 2,048 x 2,048 usually displaying best.
Last checked 2026-09
Profile picture sizes, and the circle that eats them
Square, centred on the face, at least the platform's stored size: LinkedIn and X 400 x 400, Instagram and Facebook 320 x 320, YouTube 800 x 800, Discord 512 x 512. Going larger than the minimum costs nothing and survives re-encoding better.
Last checked 2026-09
JPG, PNG or WebP: which should you use?
Photographs: JPG, or WebP if everything downstream accepts it. Screenshots, diagrams, text, flat colour or transparency: PNG, or WebP. When in doubt and it is going on a website, WebP. When in doubt and it is going into a form, JPG.
Last checked 2026-09
Image dimensions and aspect ratio, explained
Aspect ratio is width against height, written as a pair like 16:9. When your shape does not match the target you have three choices: crop to fill (exact size, edges lost), fit inside (whole picture, shorter on one side), or stretch (exact size, distorted). Crop to fill is almost always the right one.
Last checked 2026-09
Why passport photos get rejected
Background, shadow, expression and obstruction account for most rejections. File size and pixel dimensions are a distant second, and they are the only ones a tool can put right. Fix the photograph first; the file takes a minute afterwards.
Last checked 2026-09
What an image checker can and cannot tell you
Dimensions, file size, format, aspect ratio, transparency, animation and metadata are measured and certain. Background evenness, expression, framing and whether a photo looks professional are opinions. Whether an authority or marketplace will accept your image is neither - nobody outside them can answer it.
Last checked 2026-09
Image metadata, explained
EXIF holds camera, settings, timestamp and often GPS coordinates. GPS is the field that matters most, because it can place you at an address. Removing metadata deletes those fields; it changes nothing about what the picture itself shows.
Last checked 2026-09
Why some document photos must not be edited
Read the authority's own wording. The UK asks for a photo unaltered by computer software and publishes no definition; Canada and New Zealand prohibit alteration explicitly, and Canada counts cropping and colour correction. Where editing is prohibited, the only honest tool is one that measures and hands you nothing.
Last checked 2026-09
What image inspector results mean
Dimensions and file size explain most upload failures. Format and transparency explain most things looking wrong. Metadata is a privacy matter rather than a quality one. Interlacing, colour model and bit depth almost never matter unless something specifically asked about them.
Last checked 2026-09