Photo Help

Last updated: November 11, 2026

Most of the worry about a photo gift comes down to one fear: that the picture you love will come out blurry, cropped wrong, or simply not the one they would have chosen. This page is here so you can pick with confidence before you order. It covers which photo to choose, how to check it on your own screen, how each gift crops a photo, and exactly how to send it to us. There is no proof step at Gift Ink, so the few minutes you spend here are what stands between you and a gift you are both glad to keep.

1. Start with the scroll back

Open your camera roll and scroll back to the day you are marking: the first trip, the night you got the keys, the wedding, an ordinary Sunday that turned out to matter. Most couples find three or four candidates. Do not choose yet. Favourite each one, then compare them side by side with the checks below. The picture that wins is rarely the most dramatic one. It is usually the one where both faces are easy to read and the moment is obvious at a glance.

If the best photo of a day was taken by a friend, ask them to send you the original file rather than forwarding it through a chat app. Many chat and social apps shrink pictures to save space, and the copy you received can be a fraction of the size of the one on their phone.

2. Original files print well; screenshots print soft

A screenshot is a picture of your screen, not a copy of your photo. It holds only as much detail as the screen showed at that moment, which is far less than the camera recorded. Pictures saved from social networks are often compressed in the same way. On a phone they look fine. Printed across a shirt or a pillow, they can look soft, blotchy or grainy.

How to tell what you have

• On most phones you can swipe up on a photo or tap the information button to see its size. A photo taken by the phone’s own camera is usually several megabytes. A screenshot or a saved social picture is often much smaller.
• Zoom in on the faces on your own screen. If eyes and smiles stay crisp when you zoom, the file is usually large enough. If faces turn into soft blocks, look for the original.
• Old photos you photographed from a printed picture can work well if you take the photo straight on, in daylight, without glare on the paper.

These are general guides, not a promise about any particular number of pixels. If we receive a photo that we do not think will print clearly, we email you to ask for another before anything is printed.

3. Faces clear at the crop

Every gift has a shape, and the shape decides what of your photo is kept. Before you send a picture, imagine the outline of the gift laid over it. Both faces should sit comfortably inside, with a little space around them, not touching the edge.

If you are not sure how your photo will sit in the shape, crop it yourself on your phone first, using a square for pillows and round keychains and an upright rectangle for the rectangle keychain, then send us both the crop and the original. We will use the crop you chose.

4. One clear photo beats a collage

It is tempting to fit every good memory onto one gift. The trouble is that four photos on a keychain means four tiny faces, and on a shirt they become a pattern rather than a picture. One clear photo, chosen well, says more. If you have two favourites, consider two gifts: one quiet piece for every day and one loud piece for movie night.

5. Light, focus and the little things

• Light: daylight from a window or outdoors in shade is kindest to faces. Very dark photos, or faces lit only by a screen, lose detail when printed.
• Focus: check that the camera focused on you both and not on the background.
• Filters: light filters are fine, but heavy effects can change skin tones in print. If you are unsure, send the unfiltered original too.
• Sunglasses and hats: they hide the eyes, which is often what makes a face recognisable at small sizes.
• Other people: if friends are in the background, crop them out, both for the picture and because the gift is about the two of you.

6. Would they be happy to see it printed?

This is the check people skip, and it matters most. A photo can be sharp and well lit and still be the wrong one: the picture your partner thinks they look tired in, an inside joke they would rather keep inside, a moment that was private. Ask yourself whether they would happily wear it, carry it or leave it on the couch when friends visit. If the answer is not an easy yes, choose a quieter photo or a quieter gift, such as a design with only your date in numerals.

7. Quiet or loud: choosing the size of the photo

On the Custom Photo and Date Tee you choose between a small chest photo and a full front photo. The small chest photo is quiet: it reads up close, like a secret between the two of you. The full front photo is loud: it is the whole point of the shirt. Think about what your partner already wears. If their drawer is plain shirts and one favourite jacket, go quiet. If they own a closet of printed tees, go loud.

8. How to send your photo

1. On the product page, fill in your date and names, then tick the box confirming you will email your photo. The box is required on custom photo products, so you will not forget.
2. Check out as usual. Your order number is on the confirmation page and in the confirmation email.
3. Email the original photo to support@giftink.shop. Put your order number in the subject line, for example “Order 1234 photo”.
4. If you ordered more than one photo gift, say which photo goes on which gift.
5. If the file is too large to email, paste a shared album or cloud link into the optional “Photo link” field before you add the gift to your cart, or send the link in your email. Make sure the link can be opened without signing in.

Your gift is made in 1-3 business days, and we start once your photo has arrived, so send it soon after checkout. Then it travels 7-14 business days to the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand with free shipping. If you are ordering for a date, count back and allow a few extra days for sending the photo. The Shipping & Delivery page explains the timings.

9. What happens next

We print your photo as you send it. There is no proof or mockup before production. If a photo cannot print clearly, for example because it is very small, very dark or blurred, we email you to ask for another one before printing, and your order waits until we hear back. The words you type on the product page are printed exactly as typed, so read them back letter by letter before adding the gift to your cart.

Spotted a problem after ordering, such as the wrong photo attached or a typo in the date? Email us within 24 hours with your order number and we will change it. See Cancel or Change an Order.

10. Your photo and your privacy

Your photo is used only to make your order. It is not shown on our site or used in our marketing. We delete customer photos 30 days after delivery, so keep your own copy safe. The Privacy Policy explains who can see your photo while your order is being made.

Please only send photos you have the right to use. A picture you or your partner took is fine. Professional wedding or engagement photos often belong to the photographer, so check their terms or ask them first. We cannot print logos, characters or other people’s artwork; see the Intellectual Property Policy.

11. If the gift is not what you hoped

Returns are open for 60 days from delivery on every gift, personalised ones included, with a free return label, and your refund is sent within 7 days of the return reaching us. If the print does not match the photo you sent, or arrived damaged, tell us with a photo of the problem and we will make it right. See Returns & Exchanges and the Refund Policy.

12. Three couples, three choices

Six months, a weekend away

You have a dozen photos from a weekend in the mountains, most of them wide shots of the view with two small figures in front. For a keychain, none of those will work, because the faces would be too small to see. Scroll a little further and you find the one selfie you took in the car, both of you laughing, faces filling the frame. That is the keychain photo. The view can wait for another gift.

Moved in, the first night

The only photo from the night you got the keys was taken in a half-empty room lit by one bare bulb. It means everything, but it is dark and a little blurred. Before sending it, look for one taken the next morning in daylight, even if it is less dramatic. If there is none, send the night photo anyway and tell us what it is; if it cannot print clearly we will tell you before printing, and you can choose a design such as Our First Keys that needs no photo at all.

Ten years, a wedding photo

Your favourite picture is a professional portrait from your wedding. Ask your photographer for the full-size file, which most will happily send, and check that you are allowed to print it on a gift. A full front tee or an 18×18 or 22×22 pillow gives a portrait like this room to breathe.

Need a second opinion?

If you cannot decide between two photos, send both to support@giftink.shop before you order and tell us which gift you have in mind. We reply within 24 hours on business days and will tell you honestly which one we think will print more clearly. More answers live in the FAQs and the Help Center.

Gift Ink, 2248 Rugby Row, Madison, WI 53726, US.