Choose The Right Photo For A Cemetery Memorial Headstone

You have to make many decisions when a loved one dies. One of those is the way to memorialize them on a gravestone. You can select from multiple options, including text with a birth date, name, and date of death or text with the information and phrase. You may also wish to include an engraved design as a headstone picture.

With the implementation of advanced technology, we now have more pictures than ever of our loved ones, be they on our digital cameras, our smartphones, or printed on sleek photo paper from film. However, not all pictures will be suitable to be engraved as headstone images. Memorial stone makers use different processes and materials to engrave a photo on a headstone, including porcelain photos for headstones.

The photo you choose will help as a visual reminder of your loved one’s physical aspects every time someone visits their gravesite. Gravestone expert, namely cornerstone in Houston, TX, suggests the following considerations to keep in mind:

• Avoid cropped pictures

• Make sure the photo is in focus, well-lit, and you can see their facial details.

• Always select a photo that looks natural. Take clear photos that are very saturated or touched up.

• Go for high-definition, digital images.

• Choose a neutral background for a picture.

How Do I Add a Photo to a Headstone?

Porcelain photos for headstones are usually used as an alternative to hand or laser etched, commonly more costly options. Memorial photos can be added in different sizes, directly fixed to the headstone, and feature a person, couple, or family.

• Headstone photos can be engraved in typical sizes ranging from 2.25 to 10 inches or larger.

• Porcelain is a typical material, but ceramic is also an alternative.

• Square, Oval, Heart, or Rectangle are classic shapes used in making headstone photos.

Technical considerations

The technical side is one of the most ignored aspects of selecting gravestone pictures. Just because it looks fine on your smartphone doesn’t mean it will look as detailed and clear when engraved onto a gravestone. There are a few things that will make sure the photo renders to this different medium.

Headstone engravings use a digital form of the photo to translate it into stone. The original photo needs to be clear for headstone photos to capture as much detail as possible. For printed photos, it may work to scan the picture with a high-resolution scanning machine.

Social media images are not in high resolution to work as gravestone photos as posting on social media reduces the file size from a large to a smaller.