Will your photo
fit the card?
Check your Christmas card photo size and adjust the crop before ordering. A full 5 × 7 inch photo at 300 PPI needs 1500 × 2100 pixels. A smaller photo window needs fewer.
Free to use, with any photo. Nothing to upload to a server.
Find the crop that fits.
Move the photo, check its print resolution and download your crop. Your own photo stays in your browser.
JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 25 MB. No signup.
Choose your photo or try the example to see the crop and print resolution.
300 PPI target: 1500 × 2100 px, before printer-specific bleed.
Your photo,
in this space.
Try the example to see how a portrait fits different print shapes.
Saves the selected pixels without upscaling or a watermark. White fills any transparent areas. This is a photo crop, not a printer’s complete card template or bleed proof.
Start with the size
of the photo area.
A 5 × 7 card does not always need a 5 × 7 photo. If the design gives the picture a 3 × 4 inch window, use those dimensions in the checker.
For example, a 1152 × 1536 pixel portrait supplies 384 PPI in a 3 × 4 inch window. A full 5 × 7 crop from the same file supplies about 219 PPI. Check your own download rather than assuming every result has that size.
See photo-window and full-photo layouts| Photo area | Pixels needed |
|---|---|
| 5 × 7 in | 1500 × 2100 px |
| 7 × 5 in | 2100 × 1500 px |
| 4 × 6 in | 1200 × 1800 px |
| 6 × 4 in | 1800 × 1200 px |
| 5 × 5 in | 1500 × 1500 px |
| 3 × 4 in photo window | 900 × 1200 px |
What the checker measures.
It reads the file’s pixel dimensions, fits your chosen aspect ratio and calculates the pixels remaining in your crop. Repositioning changes what is visible. Zooming removes more pixels.
Effective PPI is the smaller of cropped width ÷ print width and cropped height ÷ print height. The export uses the selected pixels, without enlarging them or adding a watermark.
What to check before ordering
- Every face is sharp and recognizable at close inspection.
- No heads, hands or pets sit too close to the edge.
- The dimensions match the photo window in your card design.
- The printer’s quality warning, bleed and final proof look right.
- Names, dates and the greeting have been checked separately.
Cropping and print quality depend on the final layout. Shutterfly explains why card designs crop photos. Follow your chosen printer’s own template.
Before you print.
Why does my card cut off someone’s head?
The photo and its space on the card have different shapes. Filling that space crops the excess. Move the photo in the checker, try a different card orientation, or choose a smaller photo window with room around the group. Your printer’s trim and bleed requirements still apply.
Is a phone photo good enough?
Use the original camera file, then check its dimensions here. Screenshots and messaging-app copies can lose detail. Look at every face closely: motion blur, missed focus and compression can affect the print even when the pixel count is high.
Does changing the DPI number improve a photo?
A different resolution label cannot recover detail. This checker calculates pixels per inch from the selected crop and the physical size you enter. Zooming uses fewer original pixels, so the effective print resolution falls. Downloads keep those selected pixels without upscaling.
Does this save a complete card design?
It saves a cropped JPG photo. Add your greeting, border and any required bleed in your card designer, then inspect the printer’s final proof. For a design with a smaller photo window, enter that window’s dimensions rather than the entire card size.
Can I use an AI-generated photo?
Yes. Use the original purchased download and review faces, hands, ages and small details first. Check the actual file dimensions. AI output sizes vary, and a large file does not guarantee accurate faces or a sharp print.
Still looking for the photo?
Create an AI Christmas portrait from everyday family photos. Your first preview is free, with no account or card. Digital galleries start at $19.