How do you resize an image without distorting it?
To resize an image manually without distortion, use the same scaling factor for width and height. Example: if you go from 1920 px to 1200 px wide, calculate 1200 ÷ 1920 = 0.625, then 1080 × 0.625 = 675. The correct size is 1200 × 675 px.
Explanation
When resizing an image, you must reduce or enlarge both width and height with the same scaling factor.
Simple method:
- Note the original size, for example 1920 × 1080 px.
- Choose the new width, for example 1200 px.
- Calculate the factor: new width ÷ original width.
- Multiply the original height by that factor.
If you use a different factor for width and height, the image becomes distorted: squeezed, stretched or visually wrong. The goal is to keep the same shape, only smaller or larger.
Formula / method
Factor = new width ÷ original width
New height = original height × factor
Or the other way around:
Factor = new height ÷ original height
New width = original width × factor
Concrete example
Original image: 1920 × 1080 px
Wanted width: 1200 px
Factor: 1200 ÷ 1920 = 0.625
New height: 1080 × 0.625 = 675
Correct final size: 1200 × 675 px
Common mistake
Do not choose width and height values randomly. If you resize a 1920 × 1080 image to 1200 × 800, it will be distorted. To keep the image clean, always apply the same factor to both dimensions.
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