20in x 8in panoramic prints

Getting a 5:2 image from what you have.

The shape is two and a half times as wide as it is tall. No normal camera produces that, so you have three ways to get there.

Route one: crop a normal photo

The simplest method. Keep the full width and take strips from the top and bottom. A 6,000 x 4,000 file becomes 6,000 x 2,400, and you lose two-fifths of its height. It still gives you 300 pixels per inch at 20in. A 4,000 x 3,000 phone photo becomes 4,000 x 1,600, losing nearly half its height, but it is still 200 pixels per inch. Pictures with empty sky and foreground crop very well. A subject that fills the frame top to bottom does not.

Route two: use your phone's panorama mode

Quick, and often wider than this print. If the panorama is longer than 5:2, you will have to cut something from the ends, or add a border above and below. Check the shape before you order. Watch out for curved horizons and for people who moved during the sweep.

Route three: stitch several frames

1. Fix your exposure, so that the sky stays the same from frame to frame.
2. Overlap each shot by about a third.
3. Keep the camera level, ideally on a tripod.
4. Join the frames in your editing software, and crop.

This gives the most detail by far. It will be more than this size needs, but it means the same file can go on to a much larger panoramic print later.

Pictures that work in this shape

City skylines, coastlines, mountain ridges, long tables at weddings, team line-ups and beach huts. Anything vertical, such as a tall tree or a church spire, suffers.

Where to put one

• Above a door or a window, where nothing else fits
• Over a desk, where a tall picture would be too much
• Along a shelf, propped up behind objects
• In a line of three, end to end, to run along a corridor
• Above a bed head or small sofa, hung a little higher than you first think

A long print can look lost on a large wall. It works best when its width relates to something below it. A desk, a shelf or a small cabinet is about right.

Price

A run of different panoramas in this size still earns the 5+ or 20+ rate. For a very small order, ask whether the £35 minimum for large format posters affects you.

Guide prices from our price list. They exclude VAT and delivery and assume print-ready artwork.

Size and framing

The exact size is 508mm x 203.2mm. Our price list shows a slightly larger metric figure, and metric sizes on it are approximate, so ask us to confirm the finished size if your frame is tight. Frames of this shape are rarely on the shelf. Most people use a made-to-measure frame, or buy a larger standard frame with a mount cut to a panoramic opening. Ask about framing on request, or mounting on a thin board if you just want it to stand flat on a shelf.