Check each face, not the whole picture
A large file can still hold small faces. In a wide group photo, each person may occupy only a narrow strip of the image, which leaves very little detail around the eyes and mouth.
There is no fixed pixel number per face that we can promise will work. The practical test is simple: open the photo at 100 percent and look at every face you want to see move. If you can tell where each person is looking and see the shape of their mouth, there is something for the animation to follow. If faces turn into blurred patches, they will be guessed rather than followed.
Worked example: an eleven-person reunion photo
Suppose a 6 × 4 inch print is scanned at 600 dpi. That produces a 3,600 × 2,400 pixel file, comfortably above the minimum. With eleven people standing across it, each face is only a small part of that width.
| Option | Size of the image sent | Likely fit |
|---|---|---|
| Animate the whole group | 3,600 × 2,400 pixels, prepared at 2,048 × 1,365 | Possible, but each face is small, so expect very subtle movement and more chance of errors. |
| Crop a copy around the two grandparents in the middle | About 1,100 × 1,300 pixels | A better fit: two faces with more detail each, still well above 512 pixels on each side. |
| Crop a copy around one child at the edge | About 380 × 460 pixels | Too small. The uploader requires at least 512 pixels on each side. |
The crop guide includes a calculator for checking a crop like this before you upload.
Choose quiet movement for groups
- Small head movements and softening expressions are a better fit than asking everyone to do something at once.
- A coordinated wave across a group is unlikely to look natural. Overlapping hands and arms are where errors often appear.
- People cut off at the edge of the frame are partly invented if they move.
- Each film starts from one photograph. A group photo is one film, whether it shows two people or ten.
Everyone in the picture
Our terms ask you to have permission or the appropriate authority to create a portrait of everyone shown, not only the person you had in mind. In a family group, that may mean checking with several relatives, or with the families of people who have died.
For a gentle way to raise it, read sharing an animated family photo.
Need help choosing? Contact us before ordering.