Squaring a rectangular photo
You have two options and they produce different results. Cropping keeps the pixel density and discards the edges — right for photos with a clear central subject. Squashing stretches the image to fit, which distorts everything and is almost never what you want.
This tool crops by default when you set a square aspect ratio, so you position the crop box over what matters. For photos where nothing can be cut, place the image on a square coloured background in a design tool instead.
Why 1080 specifically
It is the display width cap on Instagram and comfortably sharp on high-density phone screens, where a 1080px image renders at roughly 360 CSS pixels at 3× density.
Going larger gains nothing on those platforms — they downscale to 1080 anyway, using their own compression rather than yours.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I make a photo square without stretching it?
- Crop rather than resize. Set the aspect ratio to 1:1 and position the crop box over your subject — the tool discards the edges instead of distorting the image.
- Is 1080x1080 enough resolution?
- For every social platform, yes — Instagram caps display width at 1080. For print you would want considerably more.