How to pick the perfect photo?

Rule 1: Light and contrast

The laser needs to see a clear difference between light and shadow. If the subject blends into the background, everything melts into a single flat area on the wood.

• The same photo engraved — poor contrast

• The same photo engraved — good contrast

Photos of people in white clothes against a bright background simply will not have enough contrast. If that one photo is nevertheless the perfect one, consider having our designers retouch it — they can usually get a much better result out of it than you would expect at first glance.

Rule 2: Detail and sharpness

Whatever is blurry in the photo, the laser cannot conjure up. Detail is what creates the real "wow" effect (eyes, wrinkles, a pet's fur).

• The same photo engraved — little detail

• The same photo engraved — plenty of detail

On the textured surface of the wood everything blends together a little more than in a digital photograph, so choosing a photo with lots of beautiful detail is the foundation of a stunning result. Detail and sharpness are also very hard to create in post-production, so this one really matters!

Rule 3: Resolution and image size

A small phone photo (or one downloaded from Messenger) can still look great on a small pendant. But if we try to burn it onto a large board, it will come out blocky and ugly.

• The same photo engraved — low resolution

• The same photo engraved on a smaller board — high resolution

• The same photo engraved on a larger board — not enough resolution

The resolution of the photo you choose plays the single biggest role in the quality of the engraving. Quality also depends on the size of the board you pick — the bigger the board, the higher the resolution needs to be. Put simply: upload the image in the best quality you have, and our editor will warn you if it is too small for the format you chose. Try to pick a well-composed photo too — a group shot is a poor fit for a small format, where everyone ends up as a tiny figure without detail, while a portrait can hold plenty of detail even on a small board.

So what do you check, quickly and easily?

• Can I clearly see people's eyes, and do the colours stay separated?
• Is the photo still sharp when I zoom in?
• Have I uploaded the photo in the best quality I have?

If the answer to all of these is "yes", there is nothing left to do but:

Thank you for taking the time to go through how a photo should look. We are looking forward to what we will make together.