How to choose the best photos for fridge magnets
The magnet is only as good as the photo. Pick faces in real light, originals from the camera roll, and one story per piece.
3 min read
A fridge magnet is a small print you see every day. The “best” photo is not the most filtered one — it is the one that still reads as a face, a place, or a moment when it is only a few inches wide.
This guide is about selection. Size and crop are covered in 2×3 vs 2×2 photo magnets and how to crop photos for fridge magnets. File size lives in what photo resolution you need.
Start with a face you can still see at arm’s length
Hold your phone at fridge distance. If you cannot tell who it is, the magnet will not either.
Use: eyes in the light, a recognisable expression, enough of the head and shoulders that a 2×3 crop still has a person in it.
Skip: silhouettes against a sunset, hats that hide the face, a group of twelve where nobody is larger than a thumbnail.
Prefer the original file, not the copy that travelled
The camera-roll original is almost always better than:
- a screenshot of a text thread
- a download from Instagram or Facebook
- a photo someone AirDropped after compressing it twice
If the only file you have is a screenshot, it can still print — it just has less room to crop. See resolution.
Light beats filters
Kitchen window, overcast afternoon, shade on a patio. Those print cleaner than a heavy gold filter or a nightclub photo with one blown-out cheek.
You do not need a studio. You need even light on the faces you care about.
One story per magnet
A 2×3 rectangle is not a scrapbook page. One child, one couple, one dock. If you want a year of memories, that is several magnets — a set of 9 puzzle grid is nine stories, not one collage crammed into a single piece.
Craftigure’s usual order is a different photo on every magnet. Repeats are fine if you want a matching set. Mixed photos are the default gift.
Phone photos are enough
A recent phone in good light is how most Craftigure orders start. The camera is not the bottleneck. Choosing is.
Favourite ten. Delete the ones where you cannot see eyes. You should have a handful left. That is the order.
When you are ready to print them
Shop custom photo magnets — packs and checkout live there. This page is only how to pick the pictures.
More in the Photo Magnet Guide: crop, resolution, how magnets are made.
More in this guide
- What Photo Resolution Do You Need for a 2×3 Magnet?A 2×3 magnet is a small print. You need enough pixels to crop and still look sharp on the fridge — not a billboard file.
- 2×3 vs 2×2 photo magnetsSee the same phone photo as a 2×3 crop and a square crop. Craftigure prints the classic photo-shaped rectangle.
- How Should Photos Be Cropped for Fridge Magnets?A fridge magnet is a 2×3 rectangle. Crop for that shape — not for a square, and not for a full-screen phone photo.