What resolution do you need for a 5x7" memorial portrait?
A 5x7" memorial portrait needs 1,500 × 2,100 pixels for a true 300 DPI print, or 1,000 × 1,400 pixels at a more forgiving 200 DPI. That is about a 3.1 MP camera if the photograph needs no cropping.
The small table frame, and the size most often handed to family members afterwards. Forgiving on resolution, so it is the size that still works when the only photograph is a small one.
- Inches
- 5 × 7
- Aspect ratio
- 5:7
- Pixels at 300 DPI
- 1,500 × 2,100
- Pixels at 200 DPI
- 1,000 × 1,400
Check your photograph against 5x7"
Drop the file in. It is read on your own computer and never uploaded.
Drop the photograph here
JPG, PNG, WebP or iPhone HEIC. You can paste one from the clipboard too — a photo saved from a message works.
The photograph is read on this device and never uploaded.
What each kind of photograph gives you at 5x7"
The crop to 5:7 is already taken off these figures, which is why they are lower than dividing pixels by inches. If you know roughly how many megapixels the photograph is but not its pixel dimensions, start from what you can print from a 12 MP photo — the size nearly every phone saves — or compare every megapixel count against every print size.
| Where it came from | Pixels | DPI at 5x7" | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| A photo saved from Facebook | 1,536 × 2,048 | 292 | Fine framed |
| A photo sent by WhatsApp at standard quality | 1,200 × 1,600 | 228 | Fine framed |
| A 6x4 print scanned at 300 DPI | 1,200 × 1,800 | 240 | Fine framed |
| A 6x4 print scanned at 600 DPI | 2,400 × 3,600 | 480 | Sharp |
| A 12 MP phone photo | 3,024 × 4,032 | 576 | Sharp |
| An iPhone 15 or later at its default 24 MP | 4,284 × 5,712 | 816 | Sharp |
| An iPhone at 48 MP, full resolution | 6,048 × 8,064 | 1152 | Sharp |
| A camera, 24 MP | 4,000 × 6,000 | 800 | Sharp |
What usually goes wrong at 5x7"
- Using a copy saved from Facebook or a message. Facebook keeps at most 2,048px on the long edge, which is 292 DPI at 5x7"; WhatsApp at standard quality sends about 1,600px. The original on somebody’s phone is usually several times larger. This is one of the most common reasons a photograph will not print, and one message asking for the original often fixes it.
- Dividing raw pixels by inches. It ignores the crop to 5:7 and overstates the resolution, sometimes badly. Every figure on this page has the crop taken off already.
- Scanning at 300 DPI and expecting a bigger print. A 6x4 print scanned at 300 DPI is only 1800px on the long edge. Scanning the same print at 600 DPI doubles that and costs nothing but a setting, so scan high the first time — the print may go back in an album.
- Losing the DPI tag. Some printers and layout programs size the picture from the DPI field, so a file with the right pixels but a 72 DPI tag can come out the wrong size. Every file this site produces has the DPI written into it as well as into its name.
Every size, side by side
| Print size | Inches | Pixels at 300 DPI | Pixels at 200 DPI | Camera needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5x7" | 5 × 7 | 1,500 × 2,100 | 1,000 × 1,400 | 3.1 MP |
| 8x10" | 8 × 10 | 2,400 × 3,000 | 1,600 × 2,000 | 7.2 MP |
| A4 | 8.27 × 11.69 | 2,481 × 3,507 | 1,654 × 2,338 | 8.7 MP |
| 11x14" | 11 × 14 | 3,300 × 4,200 | 2,200 × 2,800 | 14 MP |
| 12x16" | 12 × 16 | 3,600 × 4,800 | 2,400 × 3,200 | 17 MP |
| A3 | 11.69 × 16.54 | 3,507 × 4,962 | 2,338 × 3,308 | 17 MP |
| 16x20" | 16 × 20 | 4,800 × 6,000 | 3,200 × 4,000 | 29 MP |
| 18x24" | 18 × 24 | 5,400 × 7,200 | 3,600 × 4,800 | 39 MP |
| 20x24" | 20 × 24 | 6,000 × 7,200 | 4,000 × 4,800 | 43 MP |
| 24x36" | 24 × 36 | 7,200 × 10,800 | 4,800 × 7,200 | 78 MP |
Questions
5x7" questions
- What resolution do you need for a 5x7" memorial portrait?
- Count on 1,500x2,100 pixels to hold a true 300 DPI at this size, or 1,000x1,400 if 200 DPI will do — and for a framed portrait it usually will. Uncropped, the first of those is the work of about a 3.1 MP camera. Both figures have the trim to 5:7 taken off already.
- Can a phone photo print at 5x7"?
- A standard 12 MP phone photo is 3024x4032 pixels, which comes to about 576 DPI at 5x7" once it is cropped to 5:7. Comfortably over 300 DPI, so it will come out sharp.
- What aspect ratio is 5x7"?
- 5:7, from 5 by 7 inches. Phones shoot 3:4, so reaching 5:7 means giving up some of the edges, and that is precisely why the working resolution comes in under what the raw pixel count promises.
- Is 5x7" the right size for a funeral?
- The small table frame, and the size most often handed to family members afterwards. Forgiving on resolution, so it is the size that still works when the only photograph is a small one.
- Do I need to add bleed to a 5x7" print file?
- Usually not — a portrait destined for a frame rarely needs any, and most shops will not ask. Where one does, expect the usual 0.125 inches all round, taking the file to 1,575x2,175 pixels at 300 DPI. Leave the face comfortably clear of that outer band, since it gets cut away.