We're the Perfect Print team. A frequent complaint we hear: someone types in the size they want β say 9 x 13cm β and the photo prints looking stretched tall or squashed wide, with faces gone slightly off. The image isn't damaged; it's being forced into proportions it never had. This article explains why that happens and how to set a size in real units while keeping the photo's shape exactly as it was.
Why a fixed frame distorts the photo
Every photo has an aspect ratio β the relationship between its width and height. A typical phone photo is 3:4 or 9:16; a snapshot print is 2:3. When you type in two dimensions that don't match the photo's own ratio, something has to give. If the tool stretches the image to fill your numbers, the proportions change: a 3:4 photo crammed into a square comes out fat, and into a tall frame comes out stretched. It looked fine on screen, but printed distorted β that's the symptom.
The usual culprit is a fit or fill setting that prioritizes matching the frame over preserving shape. The frame wins, the photo loses. To avoid it, you either keep the ratio locked while sizing, or you change the photo's ratio deliberately by cropping β never by stretching.
Lock the ratio and set just one side
The clean fix is to fix the aspect ratio and specify only one dimension. Set the width to the centimeters you need, and let the height be calculated automatically from the photo's real proportions. The image scales evenly β bigger or smaller, but never reshaped. This is how you hit a target measurement on one side without paying for it with distortion on the other.
Perfect Print is built around this. When you enter a size with the ratio locked, the second dimension follows on its own, so faces and straight lines stay true. If you do need a specific final shape β a square crop, or a 2:3 print β handle that first as a crop, then set the size on the already-correct shape.
Crop first, then size, for a target shape
When the size you want and the photo's shape genuinely conflict β you want a square print but the photo is rectangular β the answer is to crop to the target ratio before setting the dimensions. Trim the photo to a square (or to 2:3, or whatever you need), which removes pixels rather than distorting them, and only then enter the exact centimeters. Now the numbers match the shape, so nothing stretches.
When you print, set the printer to actual size (100%) so the dimensions you specified come through unchanged. Measure the result with a ruler to confirm both the size and that circles still look round. If your prints come out at the wrong size entirely rather than the wrong shape, that's a different issue β see why images print too big or too small β and for the general method, how to print a phone photo at an exact size.
Perfect Print
A free app that locks the aspect ratio while you set a size, so photos print at exact dimensions without stretching. Crop and place precisely, print at 100%. No sign-up, iPhone / Android.
Learn more about Perfect PrintFrequently asked questions
Why does my photo look stretched after I set a size?
Because the dimensions you entered don't match the photo's aspect ratio, and a fit-or-fill setting stretched it to comply. Lock the ratio and set only one side so the other is calculated, keeping the shape intact.
How do I set an exact size without distortion?
Keep the aspect ratio locked and specify one dimension β for example the width in centimeters. The height follows automatically from the photo's true proportions, so it scales evenly.
What if I need a square or a specific shape?
Crop to that shape first β cropping removes pixels rather than distorting them β and then enter the exact dimensions. The numbers will match the shape, so nothing stretches.
How can I check the print isn't distorted?
Print at actual size (100%) and measure with a ruler. The dimensions should match what you set, and round shapes in the photo should still look round rather than oval.