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On a family vacation I took pictures with my Xperia Z4 that gives image sizes of 3840 pixels × 2160 pixels.

I would now like to print all photos with image size 102mm × 152mm (4″ × 6″)

What do I need to do to do this? I tried an online printing service but the resulting images are either trimmed or have whitespace around the top/bottom edges. If I try resizing, then the aspect ratio is lost and the image looks stretched.

Is there a way to print the images with a size of 102mm × 152mm (4" × 6") without losing the aspect ratio and edges being trimmed or having a whitespace?

3840 x 2160 px means an aspect ratio of 16:9 - it is the reduced fraction of the pixel values:

3840:2160 -> (:20) -> 192:108 -> (:6) -> 32:18 -> (:2) -> 16:9

Since your images have an aspect ratio of 16:9 and 6" x 4" prints have an aspect ratio of 3:2, something will have to give:

• Either you live with the white space,


• or something needs to be cropped away (so 3240 x 2160 px),


• or the aspect ratio will be adapted, thus stretching your images on the y-axis,


• or you print in 16:9, e.g. 4.5" x 8"

If you choose to crop them, there is a wide variety on both free and non-free programs to do this: Photoshop, GIMP (free), or virtually any other image tool (IrfanView (free), XnView (free), Lightroom, Capture One, Darktable (free), DigiKam (free), RawTherapee (free), ...) can do this. I would rather crop something away myself, as you have control over what exactly gets cut away (e.g. perhaps the left side is filled with a concrete wall, but on the right side are people you would not want to get trimmed away.)

If you decide that in the future, you want to capture the images in 3:2 to reduce post-production work, then you can change the aspect ratio in your camera app's settings (at least Open Camera, Google Camera and FV-5 can do this).

Strange question...

You don't want to crop, you don't want borders, you don't want to stretch the image...but you want to somehow put one rectangle into another rectangle of a different aspect ratio.

What other options could there be?

It's like putting a round peg in a square hole. Well, a rectangular peg in a rectangular hole. This isn't specific to photography - it's just geometry and some logical thinking.

First, let's help you ask the question correctly. What you should ask from now on is:

Is the aspect ratio preserved between these two sizes?

The answer in this case is no and here I explain how you can answer this question yourself in the future:

Aspect ratio can be represented as a fraction or a decimal. In this instance, aspect ratio represented as a decimal is more useful to us. There is a simple rule you can follow in the future.

If the aspect ratio of the two sizes do not match, you will need either cropping, bars, stretching or distortion to make it fit. You can calculate Aspect Ratio by dividing the Width by the Height.

3840/2160   (Aspect Ratio: 1.778)   (16/9 = 1.778)



6/4         (Aspect Ratio: 1.5  )   ( 3/2 = 1.5  )

Not Possible because the Aspect Ratios do not match.

Here is an example of two different sizes where the aspect ratio is preserved which is what you want:

3840/2160   (Aspect Ratio: 1.778)   (16/9 = 1.778)



1920/1080   (Aspect Ratio: 1.778)   (16/9 = 1.778)

Possible because the Aspect Ratios match.

I'm not aware of any online printing service which offers any print sizes with a 16×9 aspect ratio. That's a little odd because of how standard 16×9 has become because of the TV standard, but... there it is.

Assuming you don't want to crop, your only option is to print on larger paper with whitespace, and then trim that whitespace. I recommend a rotary paper trimmer — you can get a good one for less than $50. (To keep them cutting cleanly you will eventually need replacement blades, but, eh, good for that price for a while.)

Then, print on 4×6" and trim to 3⅜×6" (because 3.375 is ⁹⁄₁₆ths of 6). Or start with 5×7" and trim to ... just under 4 inches. (Or use the same idea on even larger prints, but price per print will go up significantly.)

One thing to be aware of: most print shops will actually trim something from the edges of the frame even when the aspect ratio matches. That's how the right-to-the-edge thing works without the shop needing to be super-precise. So, if your images are already composed and framed how you like and you want to avoid this, you need to print with whitespace and trim yourself anyway.