Choosing and Preparing a Photo for a Shradhanjali Card
By the ShokSabha team · Published · Updated · 7 min read
The card is only as good as its photo. Most of the problems families have are fixable before they upload.
What makes a good photo
- A face at least a quarter of the picture, looking toward the camera
- Even light, without a harsh shadow across one side
- A plain or softly blurred background
- Natural expression; a gentle smile is common and also fine to avoid
Photos that are small or old
A WhatsApp-forwarded picture is often under 800 pixels wide. That is enough for a small frame, but zooming in will show it. Ask the sender for the original, or find the same photo on a phone's gallery rather than in chat. For printed album photos, take a straight-on picture in daylight, not at an angle with flash.
Cropping inside the editor
The frame is centred on the picture. If the face sits too high or low, crop the file in your phone's gallery first, then upload, and use the zoom slider for the last adjustment. Arch and oval frames cut the corners, so leave a little space around the head.
Group photos
If the best picture is a group shot, crop to one person. Use the full group photo for the family's own album instead.
How many pixels you actually need
The downloaded card is 2480 × 3508 px. The portrait takes up roughly a quarter of the card's width, which is about 650 px on the final file. So a head-and-shoulders crop of around 700 × 900 px or more will look sharp even in print. Below about 400 px wide it will still read on a phone but look soft on paper.
| Where the photo comes from | Typical size | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Original from a phone camera | 3000 px or more on the long side | Sharp, even after cropping to one face |
| Forwarded on WhatsApp as a photo | Much smaller than the original | Fine if the person fills the picture; soft if cropped out of a group |
| Passport photo scanned at 300 dpi | About 413 × 531 px | Borderline. Acceptable on a phone, soft in print |
| Passport photo scanned at 600 dpi | About 827 × 1063 px | Good |
| Phone picture of a framed or album photo | Depends on how it is taken | Good if taken in daylight and filling the screen |
Photographing a framed or album photo
- Take the print out from behind the glass if you can. If not, tilt the frame slightly until the reflection disappears
- Stand near a window in daylight and switch the flash off
- Hold the phone parallel to the photo, not at an angle, so the face is not stretched
- Move closer until the photo fills the screen; do not rely on zooming in afterwards
- Tap on the eyes to focus, take three pictures and keep the sharpest
Which frame suits which photo
| Frame shape | Works best with | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Round | Head and shoulders, face in the centre | Tall hairstyles or turbans being cut at the top |
| Arch or oval | Head and shoulders with space above the head | The corners are cut away, so keep the shoulders inside |
| Rectangle | Half-length or seated photos | A busy background shows more |
| Frames with a flower garland | Any portrait | The flowers cover the bottom edge, so keep the chin clear of the lowest fifth |
Which photo to choose when there are several
- Pick the one most people will recognise at a glance, usually from the last five to ten years
- An old black-and-white photo is fine as it is. Do not colourise it for the card
- Avoid sunglasses, beauty filters and heavy edits; relatives notice
- If the family disagrees, let the spouse or the eldest child decide, and use the other photo in the status video or the anniversary card
Customs differ between families, communities and regions. This guide describes common practice, not a religious ruling; confirm dates and rites with your own priest, imam or elders. See our disclaimer.