The aspect ratio of a picture becomes important when you want to print it. Different size prints, like a 4" x 6" or 8" x 10" print, have different aspect ratios. The size of the print may, or may not, correspond to the aspect ratio of the original picture. If it doesn't, some parts of the picture may have to be sacrificed, or the paper trimmed to the picture's size.

An aspect ratio represents the relationship between the width and height. For example, you have a 4" x 6" print, it's aspect ratio would be 1.5:1 (6" / 4" = 1.5), or 1.5" of width for every 1" of height. An aspect ratio of 1:1 is a perfect square. You can also get the aspect ratio of a picture by using it's resolution. For example, if you have a picture with a resolution of 2560 x 1920, it's aspect ratio will be 1.33:1 (2560 / 1920 = 1.33).

The aspect ratio of different print formats varies considerably. For example, a 4" x 6" print has an aspect ratio of 1.5:1, whereas an 8" x 10" print has an aspect ratio of 1.25:1. This means you cannot directly scale a 4" x 6" print to an 8" x 10" print. If you don't want to loose any part of the picture (usually refered to as 'cropping'), you'll get a 6.6" x 10" picture on an 8" x 10" paper. This leaves some white bars on either side, which you'll probably want to trim away. Another alternative is to 'crop' the picture to a 1.25:1 aspect ratio, so it will completely fill the 8" x 10" print. This will mean loosing some parts of the original picture.

Here are some common aspect ratios, and how they appear (without cropping) on a number of print formats:

Ratio	Print Formats
	4" x 6"	5" x 7"	8" x 10"
1.5:1	4" x 6"	4.6" x 7"	6.6" x 10"
1.33:1	4" x 5.3"	5" x 6.6"	7.5" x 10"

As you can see, pictures with an aspect ratio of 1.5:1 are better suited to 4" x 6" prints, and those with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 are better suited to 8" x 10" prints. In most cases, the pictures on MVPix.com have an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, making them more suitable for 8" x 10" prints (the prefered size for framing).

Whatever the aspect ratio, you should always avoid cropping a picture to fit a particular print size. Instead, remove the excess paper from the print afterwards. Most digital photography labs allow you to disable automatic cropping. Look for this option when ordering prints.