How do I make a 1280x720 YouTube thumbnail from a portrait photo?
1280 by 720 is a common thumbnail size; check YouTube's current guidance. A 1920 by 1080 frame from the video itself scales to it with nothing lost, but a portrait photo in 'Fill and crop' keeps only a centered band, and if it is small it gets enlarged too, so the tool warns you. A landscape shot, or a 16:9 crop you choose yourself, gives a sharper result.
A video frame: the easy case
If you take the thumbnail from a frame of the video, it is most likely 16:9 like the target. A 1920 × 1080 image scales straight down to 1280 × 720 with no bands and no crop, and the fit mode changes nothing because the ratios match. Type 1280 as the width with the ratio lock on and 720 appears by itself.
A portrait photo: where the trouble starts
Many creators shoot vertically on a phone and then want a wide thumbnail. The two shapes are complete opposites, and here is what happens:
A 1080 × 1350 photo with 'Fill and crop': a 1080 × 608 band starting 371 px from the top is kept, then enlarged to 1280 × 720, so the upscaling warning appears.
The same photo with 'Fit inside': it becomes 576 × 720 in the middle of the frame, with a 352 px band on each side.
A full 3024 × 4032 phone photo with 'Fill and crop': a 3024 × 1701 band starting at 1165 is kept and scaled down, with no enlarging.
In the first case more than half the picture is lost and what remains is softer because of the enlarging. In the third a lot is lost as well, but the band is sharp because the original is large. So use the original camera file, not a copy downloaded from a platform.
Choose the part yourself
Cropping in the resizer always takes the middle, and the middle of a photo of a standing person is usually the chest, not the face. Open the Image cropper, pick the 16:9 ratio, place the frame over the face or product, then bring the result back to the Image resizer and type 1280 with the ratio lock on. That way you control what the viewer sees.
Or use the bands for the title
If the whole portrait matters, 'Fit inside' leaves two side bands in a color you choose. Those bands are a good place for the video title in large type, added later in a design app. The resizer does not write text, but it gives you the frame at the right size and colors.
Common questions
Which format should the thumbnail be?
JPEG at a high quality suits photographs. Check the file size limit the platform states, and lower the quality if you are over it.
Is 1280 × 720 mandatory?
We do not claim so. It is a common 16:9 size, and platforms change their guidance, so check before uploading.