Choosing a photographic print size.

The size written beside a photograph is only useful when you know what it measures. An image, a sheet of paper and a finished frame can have three different dimensions. Before you order, find out which one you are looking at.

Three measurements, three different jobs.

Image dimensions describe the printed picture. Paper dimensions describe the complete sheet, which may include a border. Outside frame dimensions describe the object that has to fit on the wall. A mount and the frame profile can change that final footprint.

Do not calculate the outside size by adding a guessed border to the print size. Ask for the finished dimensions of the exact size, mount and frame combination you want. If a product page provides only the print measurement, get the outside measurement confirmed before planning a tight fit.

Choose a shape before a size.

A tall photograph and a wide photograph use the same wall differently. Look at the composition as well as the rectangle. A chairlift suspended in pale sky can hold a narrow space with very little visual noise. A mountain panorama gives the eye a longer route across the wall.

Emma Tysinger’s The Chair Above is a portrait photograph, with cables crossing the upper part of the picture and a snowy ridge below. Above the Weather is landscape format, opening out across snow and cloud. These are useful starting points for comparing shape; neither is a scale drawing of your room.

The Chair Above by Emma Tysinger

Above the Weather by Emma Tysinger

Both works currently offer the house size names Collectors, Keepsake, Study, Signature, Gallery and Grand. Those names help you navigate the range. Use the selected work’s measurements and framing details to decide what fits. The available options were checked on 11 October 2026.

Make a paper template.

Once you have the outside dimensions, mark that rectangle on scrap paper and cut it out. Label it with the work, size and frame choice. If you are comparing two sizes, make two templates. You are testing the full object, not just its image area.

Hold the template in position, or use a wall-safe temporary fixing suitable for your finish. Check it from the doorway, from your usual seat and while walking past. Protect the wall surface and remove the template when you have finished.

Look for practical interruptions: a door swinging towards the frame, a switch you still need to reach, furniture that sits close to the wall, or a chair that moves backwards. A photograph should have room to be seen and room to be lived with.

Most Wanted

The ones people ask about at dinner. The house’s most collected photographs, in order.

See Most Wanted 

Let the viewing distance have a say.

For a desk or a narrow hallway, you may spend time close to the work. Fine lines and small details can become part of its appeal. Across a larger room, compare how clearly the main shapes read. A bigger size is an option, not an obligation.

There is no single sofa-width ratio or hanging height that makes every photograph right. Test your own sightline. A work above a low sideboard and one beside a doorway answer different questions, even when the frame is the same size.

If you are hanging a pair.

Lay out both templates and the intended gap as one arrangement. Measure the complete span. Matching outside sizes can give two different compositions a shared rhythm; different sizes can work too, provided the relationship looks deliberate from the room’s normal viewing position.

For a sequence of photographs in a passage, read The hallway guide

Check before ordering.

Confirm the selected photograph, orientation, print size, mount, frame finish and outside dimensions. Check the complete framed weight and the supplied hanging hardware when planning installation. The fixing must suit the wall and the work; ask the maker or an installer if you are unsure.

For the materials around the photograph, read Choosing a wooden frame