I just ran into the cropping issue this week, after my post went out. I changed the image to fix it, so thank you! Do you know how we can cite or reference a borrowed thumbnail picture? I want to give artists their props but can't find a way to reference or link the thumbnail pics that don't occur in the post.
The only way I know that you could do it is to have the thumbnail appear inside your post as well. Then you can add the attribute in the image caption.
I knew this, but not about the smart cropping. I put a border around my thumbnails, and use the same template each week, but it's not always right. I think the Smart Cropping is the culprit. Thanks!
One of the many things I love about Unstack Substack is I can quickly look at the tip of the day then come back to the archives when that particular issue inevitably comes up - something I've done many times. Thanks for this Kristi.
Agreed, smart cropping is not smart. It's also worth mentioning that size of your thumbnails varies depending on the setup of your homepage. Some thumbnails are wider than others. And the croping for a podcast image is different than the thumbnail too.
Oh absolutely landscape for thumbnails and primary post images. Despite all the variations, they are all variations on a landscape ratio. I think the biggest problem comes in if you are putting the article title in your image (as I do). Getting things to line up properly becomes a bit of a nightmare. Doing an image only post graphic is far more forgiving for cropping differences.
smart cropping is not smart. I have a lot of photos from my phone, obvi in portrait, and sometimes the thumbnail cuts off the part I want. I have to play with the image in my photo editor and it's a hassle.
So you're telling me that for the last year and a half I've been using the wrong size for my thumbnail images that was provided by another Substacker 😀. I had set it and forget it even when the image sometimes didn't come out exactly the way that I wanted it to. I figured it was just a fluke.
The nice thing about this is that now I have access to Canva templates for this size which will save me from having to recreate every image from scratch.
Thanks for another great article! And for setting the record straight 🎵🎼.
Smart cropping sucks. I turned it off ages ago. Great post, so helpful, Kristi. I'd done a bit of research a while back and discovered (or thought I did) that the dimensions are different for the featured images for different home page layouts. Does the dimension you've noted cover all the different ones? That would be fabulous. xo
Thanks Kristi, I figured out the thumb nail out of pure frustration, but I didn’t know about the centering. I will get onto that!!
I just ran into the cropping issue this week, after my post went out. I changed the image to fix it, so thank you! Do you know how we can cite or reference a borrowed thumbnail picture? I want to give artists their props but can't find a way to reference or link the thumbnail pics that don't occur in the post.
The only way I know that you could do it is to have the thumbnail appear inside your post as well. Then you can add the attribute in the image caption.
That's what I thought. Thanks!
I knew this, but not about the smart cropping. I put a border around my thumbnails, and use the same template each week, but it's not always right. I think the Smart Cropping is the culprit. Thanks!
You're welcome. I hope that is the change you needed!
One of the many things I love about Unstack Substack is I can quickly look at the tip of the day then come back to the archives when that particular issue inevitably comes up - something I've done many times. Thanks for this Kristi.
I didn't know about the worthwhile tip! Thanks!
Agreed, smart cropping is not smart. It's also worth mentioning that size of your thumbnails varies depending on the setup of your homepage. Some thumbnails are wider than others. And the croping for a podcast image is different than the thumbnail too.
True true. But landscape is the failsafe way to go for sure.
Oh absolutely landscape for thumbnails and primary post images. Despite all the variations, they are all variations on a landscape ratio. I think the biggest problem comes in if you are putting the article title in your image (as I do). Getting things to line up properly becomes a bit of a nightmare. Doing an image only post graphic is far more forgiving for cropping differences.
smart cropping is not smart. I have a lot of photos from my phone, obvi in portrait, and sometimes the thumbnail cuts off the part I want. I have to play with the image in my photo editor and it's a hassle.
Agreed, total hassle! I do the same as you...crop the most important part manually. 🙄
Thank you! This is so helpful.
Another great tip Kristi, thank you so much!
Yep, I did know it Kristi!
But, I have a hard time calling a 2240x1260 px image a "thumbnail," lol. 😎
I guess I'm showing off my age - I remember when they first coined the term...because they were the size of a thumbnail.
That's a far cry from filling the top half of a "4k" display!
(After all, an "HD" display is 1980x1240 px.) 🤔 😁
Haha yeah I hear you. It's a large image in the post but on your homepage it's a lot smaller, hence thumbnail.
I’ve always had it on smart cropping! Guess I’ll try the center option. Thanks!
Thanks for telling us how to turn off the “smart” cropping! I didn’t even know that was an option.
So you're telling me that for the last year and a half I've been using the wrong size for my thumbnail images that was provided by another Substacker 😀. I had set it and forget it even when the image sometimes didn't come out exactly the way that I wanted it to. I figured it was just a fluke.
The nice thing about this is that now I have access to Canva templates for this size which will save me from having to recreate every image from scratch.
Thanks for another great article! And for setting the record straight 🎵🎼.
I mean, there's no absolutely wrong size unless you're using tall images lol. But this one size seems to fit nice and snug.
Thank you.
Smart cropping sucks. I turned it off ages ago. Great post, so helpful, Kristi. I'd done a bit of research a while back and discovered (or thought I did) that the dimensions are different for the featured images for different home page layouts. Does the dimension you've noted cover all the different ones? That would be fabulous. xo
LOL yah I've always wondered why the called it "smart".
To be honest, I haven't tested those dimensions with all homepage layouts but I do find that size works great for any grid display (vs list).
I'm so excited, SO excited. Any kind of margins/padding needed?
I've never fiddled with those. I typically just use the blog banner template and resize images to fit inside that.