Uploading a high quality Facebook cover photo is important for making a good first impression on your profile. With over 2 billion monthly active Facebook users, your cover photo is valuable real estate for showing off your personality or business. While Facebook will scale down and compress images to optimize file size, starting with a high resolution original photo is key to ensuring it looks crisp and clear.
Cover Photo Dimensions
Facebook’s cover photo size is:
- Width: 820 pixels
- Height: 312 pixels
Uploading an image that is the exact 820 x 312 pixel size will prevent unwanted cropping by Facebook. For best quality, your original photo should be higher resolution than the 820 x 312 requirement. A good starting point is to use an original photo that is:
- Width: At least 1080 pixels
- Height: At least 720 pixels
This will provide extra image data that will help reduce pixelation and distortion when Facebook scales and crops your photo to fit the 820 x 312 cover size.
Use a High Quality Camera
The camera and lens quality will impact the maximum resolution and image clarity you can achieve. Using a higher megapixel camera, like 12MP or greater, will provide more image data to work with. Similarly, choosing a fast aperture lens, like f/2.8 or wider, will improve sharpness and capture more light and detail.
Some good camera options include:
- DSLR cameras
- High-end point and shoot cameras
- Recent smartphone cameras
Avoid using cameras that produce low resolution images, like:
- Older cell phone cameras
- Webcams
- Cheap point and shoots
Uploading low res source images will cause unwanted blurring and artifacts when displayed at Facebook’s cover photo size.
Use Proper Camera Settings
When taking the photo, use the camera settings and techniques that produce the highest resolution files possible. Some tips include:
- Using lower ISO sensitivity settings (ISO 100 or 200)
- Using the camera’s native resolution setting
- Shooting in RAW file format if available
- Using a tripod to stabilize and minimize blur
- Using manual focus and setting to infinity
- Closing down the aperture to maximize sharpness
- Composing with subject in center to allow maximum flexibility for cropping
You want your original photo to have good detail, minimal noise, maximum focus, and no motion blur. This will allow cropping and resizing while retaining image quality.
Upload Options
Once you have a high resolution source image, there are a couple options for uploading to Facebook:
1. Upload Full Size Image
You can simply upload your full size original image, as long as it meets the minimum width of 1080 pixels. Facebook will take care of cropping and resizing it for use as your cover photo.
The advantage here is it’s quick and easy. The downside is you give up control of the final framing and composition.
2. Resize and Crop Image Using Image Editor
For maximum control over quality and composition, you’ll want to resize and crop the image yourself before uploading:
- Open image in editing software like Photoshop, GIMP, Pixelmator, etc
- Scale or resize image to 820 x 312 pixels
- Manually crop image to perfect framing and composition
- Save resized cover photo as a JPG, PNG, or TIFF
- Upload finished 820 x 312 cover photo to Facebook
Resizing and cropping the image yourself avoids any surprise around how Facebook’s algorithm will process the photo. The downside is it takes more time and effort on your part.
Do Some Post Processing
After resizing your image but before uploading, it’s recommended to do some quick post processing to really make the cover photo look its best. A few quick edits can go a long way:
- Adjust brightness and contrast – Increase contrast and adjust brightness to make image pop
- Sharpen – Add some sharpening to bring out details
- Reduce noise – Minimize noise and artifacts for clean image
- Color correct – Tweak white balance and saturation for desired look
- Vignette – Darken edges to focus attention on main subject
What post processing you do depends on the photo, but even subtle tweaks can enhance the final image quality and attractiveness of your cover photo.
Pick an Attention Grabbing Subject
No matter what camera or post processing you use, a compelling subject is critical to an effective Facebook cover photo. Consider these tips for picking a cover photo subject:
- Feature people – Photos with an identifiable person or group tend to attract the most interest and engagement
- Show faces – Have the person look towards the camera for maximum impact
- Use bold colors – Vibrant colors grab people’s attention
- Highlight text or logos – Clear visual branding if representing a business
- Convey emotions – Happiness, excitement and other positive feelings appeal to people
If displaying a business logo or products, ensure they are clearly highlighted in a way that pops. For individuals, authentic moments with family, friends or doing hobbies are great personal photo options.
Check Quality Before Uploading
Review your cover photo on the device you will be uploading from to spot check quality and composition. This allows catching and adjusting any issues before uploading the final image to Facebook. Key things to verify:
- Accurate dimensions of 820 x 312 pixels
- Image looks crisp and sharp, not overly compressed
- Main subject stands out
- Text and logos are legible
Pay extra attention to how the ends of the image will appear, since Facebook picks what to show depending on the viewer’s device. Zoom in and scan the image borders to ensure no important elements will be cut off.
Uploading Your Cover Photo
Once you have a properly sized and optimized cover photo, it’s time to upload it:
- Go to your Facebook Profile
- Click the camera icon in the cover photo area
- Choose ‘Upload Photo’ and select your 820 x 312 cover photo file
- Click ‘Save Changes’ to upload photo as cover image
That’s it! Your high resolution cover photo will now be visible to all your Facebook profile visitors.
Cropping and Positioning Your Cover Photo
After uploading, you can use Facebook’s cropping and positioning tools to perfect the final look:
- Click and drag image around to set ideal positioning
- Zoom and pan to crop into key focus areas
- Click ‘Save Changes’ to finalize positioning
Test how your cover photo looks on both desktop and mobile to make sure the subject is clearly visible on different screen sizes.
Updating Your Cover Photo
To change your cover photo to a new image, just repeat the upload process with a new photo. There is no limit to how often you can update your Facebook cover image.
Periodically changing your cover photo is a great way to keep your profile looking fresh. You can rotate between favorite photos or highlight important events over time.
For holidays or special occasions, updating your cover photo to match can let people know what you are celebrating. Businesses can also rotate cover images to promote products, deals, events and more.
Cover Photo Design Tips
Here are some additional design tips for making the most of your Facebook cover photo:
Overlay Text
Adding custom text overlays is a great way to deliver specific messages and brand your images. This layered typography stands out nicely against cover photo images. Just keep fonts and colors legible.
Frames and Borders
Framing your cover photo with decorative borders is an easy way to add visual flair. Simple white frames add definition, while themed frames complement different occasions.
Patterns and Textures
Consider using subtle patterns or texture overlays to add visual interest without overwhelming the core image. This can create a nice branded effect.
Transparency
Making parts of your cover photo slightly transparent can create a layered, dimensional effect. This works especially well for overlaying text and logos.
| Design Element | Examples | Use Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Overlay Text | Slogans, captions, titles, quotes, branding | Highlight key messages, promote brands |
| Frames and Borders | Solid colors, themed shapes, vintage edges | Define photo edges, tie to themes |
| Patterns and Textures | Subtle geometric shapes, grunge, whimsical | Branding, highlight occasions |
| Transparency | Faded overlays, ghosted elements | Layer text and logos subtly |
Conclusion
Uploading a custom Facebook cover photo in high resolution is invaluable for making a great first impression. Start with a high quality image taken with good camera equipment and settings. Resize the image to 820 x 312 pixels, do any desired cropping and post processing, then upload and position it perfectly. Pick visually engaging subjects and don’t be afraid to add design elements like text overlays. Periodically change your cover photo keep your profile looking fresh. With an excellent cover photo that represents your brand or personality, you can enhance any Facebook profile and engage your audience.