Image Frame Generator
Add a border, a gallery mat, a polaroid frame or a rounded card to an image, with the frame drawn outside the picture so nothing is cropped.
Last reviewed by the Radiatus Cloud team
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A frame added inside crops the picture
The simplest way to add a border is to draw it over the edges of the image, which loses whatever was there. Extending the canvas instead and drawing the frame in the new space preserves the whole picture at the cost of changing the overall dimensions. Which is correct depends on the destination: a fixed aspect ratio for social media may require the first, and anything where the image matters requires the second.
A mat is not a border
Gallery framing surrounds a print with a wide mat, conventionally with more space at the bottom than the top. The asymmetry is deliberate: an optically centred image looks slightly low when measured centring is used, because the eye places the visual centre above the geometric one. The convention is roughly ten to twenty percent more at the bottom, and it looks correct precisely because it is not measured centre.
Frames change the file more than they seem to
A flat border compresses to almost nothing, so a frame adds little to the file size. A drop shadow or a textured mat adds a gradient across a large area, which lossy formats handle poorly and can add substantially. And a frame drawn into the image cannot be changed later or adapt to a dark theme, which is why a border in CSS is usually better for anything displayed on a page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should the frame be inside or outside the image?
Outside in almost every case, since drawing it over the edges crops whatever was there. Inside is right only when the final dimensions are fixed, as for some social media formats.
Why is the bottom mat wider?
Because the eye places the visual centre slightly above the geometric one, so a measured centre looks low. Gallery framing conventionally adds ten to twenty percent more at the bottom, which reads as correct.
Does a frame increase file size?
A flat border barely at all, since a solid area compresses to almost nothing. A drop shadow or a texture adds a gradient across a large area, which lossy formats handle poorly and can add noticeably.
Should I use CSS instead?
For anything displayed on a page, yes. A CSS border can change with the theme, adapts to the layout and costs no pixels. Burn the frame in only when the image travels on its own.
What frame colour works best?
White or near-white for most photographs, since it reads as a mat rather than as part of the picture. A dark frame competes with the image unless the image is itself light, and a coloured frame nearly always fights the content.
Privacy & Security
Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to Use
Upload an image and choose a frame style to add around it.
Disclaimer: This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Results are for educational and utility purposes.
Related Tools
EXIF Viewer
ImageExtract hidden EXIF data (Camera, GPS, Settings) from images.
Favicon Generator
ImageGenerate favicons and app icons at every required size from one source image, with the exact HTML to reference them.
Placeholder Image Generator
ImageGenerate placeholder images at any size with custom colours and label text. Produced in your browser as downloadable files, no external hotlinking.