Outpainting: extending instead of cropping
Cropping a 16:9 master to 9:16 throws away most of the image and often the product. Outpainting extends the scene instead, generating new canvas on either side or above and below so the subject stays whole. It works best when the extension is background: sky, wall, floor, landscape. Check what the model added. Common faults include repeated objects, a horizon that steps at the join, shadows falling the wrong way, extra limbs or people at the edge, and invented signage or logos. Plan the master with room around the subject, and approve extended versions as new images, not as crops of an approved one.
Upscaling for print and large format
Upscaling predicts detail that was never captured. For skies, walls and soft textures it is convincing; for small text, labels, fabric weaves, skin and jewellery it can drift into plausible nonsense or subtly change a face, which matters when the person photographed has a contract covering how their likeness is used. Print sizes set the target. Offset print wants around 300 ppi at final size. Large formats are viewed from further away and need less: a UK 48-sheet billboard is 6,096 by 3,048 mm, and the media owner or printer will state the resolution they need. Upscale, compare against the original at actual size, and restore product details from source files.
Every ratio a campaign needs
A typical campaign runs through 9:16 for Stories, Reels and Shorts; 4:5 and 1:1 for feeds; 16:9 for video and web; 1.91:1 for link previews and some display placements; 2:3 for Pinterest; and the odd sizes of banners and digital out-of-home screens, which vary by media owner. Each ratio changes what fits and where the safe areas sit. The studio's product-lock keeps the product pixel-accurate in geometry, labels and colours while the scene is extended or recomposed around it, and every format is produced from the same brief and approved as one set.
Re-laying out text and logos
Text is where resized assets fail most visibly. Stretching, squeezing or regenerating a headline produces distorted type, broken spacing or misspelt words. Keep headlines, prices, legal lines and logos as live layers and re-lay them out for each format: a wide banner might carry the headline on one line beside the product, while a vertical story stacks it above. Respect the logo's clear space and minimum size, keep legal text legible in every format, and check that prices and offers are identical across the set. When a format is too small for the full message, cut words deliberately rather than shrinking type.
Updated 25 September 2026