The right aspect ratio for every platform
Square, widescreen, portrait or classic — matched to where the image will actually appear.
SamImageGenerator ·
Aspect ratio is a composition decision, not a crop. It is sent to the generator before the image exists, so the subject is placed for the frame you chose — which is why generating the right shape beats cropping a square into a banner every time.
The four ratios and where they go
| Ratio | Use it for |
|---|---|
| 1:1 | Feed posts, profile pictures, marketplace listings, product tiles |
| 16:9 | Website heroes, YouTube thumbnails, slides, email headers, desktop wallpaper |
| 9:16 | Stories, reels, vertical ads, phone wallpaper |
| 4:3 | Print, presentations, documents, older displays |
If an image has two homes, generate it twice. Two credits buy two compositions that are each right for their frame; one crop buys one that is wrong in one of them. This is the single most common avoidable mistake in a content workflow.
Resolution: 1K or 2K
1K puts the long edge at about 1024 pixels and is the right default for anything that lives on a screen — a web page, a post, an email. 2K doubles it and is worth choosing when the image will be printed, cropped into afterwards, or shown very large.
Both cost the same single credit. The bigger number is not a quality tier: it is the same picture with more pixels, and it takes a little longer to make and a little longer to load.
Leave room for what goes on top
If text, a logo or a caption will be layered over the image, ask for the space in the prompt — "plain area in the lower third", "simple background on the right". A generated image that is busy everywhere is a good picture and a bad asset. The framing words that make a ratio work are in the prompt guide.