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How To Print A Locket Photo: A Step-By-Step Guide

By Emily Hutton
  • Last Updated: Sep 18, 2022

There are many ways to display photos. You can put them in photo albums, frame them up on walls, or even create a video slideshow out of them. However, almost none of them beat the personal touch of a locket. 

A locket can be a great way to keep the picture of a loved one literally close to your heart, but printing photos for them can be a hassle. In this post, we’ll share the easiest way to print and fit a photo to your locket! 

If you have an old photo that you want to restore before putting it in a locket, Image Restoration Center is here to help.

Why Are Lockets Popular?

Lockets date back to the 16th century, but they became more prominent in the 19th century. Many people in the Victorian Age used them as mourning jewelry to contain photographs, paintings, or even locks of hair from their deceased loved ones. 

The increasing popularity of photography in the early 20th century further pushed the appeal of wearing a locket. Soldiers during both World Wars would give their loved ones lockets with the hope that they’ll be remembered fondly while fighting abroad. 

While these days we can save hundreds of photos with a loved one, online albums lack that personal touch. A locket makes the picture embedded inside them feel special. Moreover, in an age where every story and every picture is publicized, a locket is a private thing that you keep very close to your heart.

Nowadays, a locket isn’t just worn for lovers. While a locket containing couple pictures is still commonplace, it can also contain pictures of family members or a lost loved one.

Preparing The Perfect Picture For Your Locket

Lockets are typically very small, only fractions of an inch wide. Since you don’t usually print tiny photos, fitting pre-existing photos in them can be tough.

You can follow these five steps to make the best photo prints for your locket.

Measure Your Locket’s Frame Space

Your first step should be to get the locket’s frame measurements to act as a reference point. If you have a heart-shaped locket that opens, make sure you measure the image space inside and not its body. If you haven’t bought it, ask the seller about the locket size first.

If you already have a locket, use a ruler or a tape measure and record the approximate width and height of the image space. You don’t need to be exact, just make a general estimate to the closest millimeter. For a round locket, you can use the ruler to measure its frame diameter instead of its height and width. 

As a rule of thumb, it’s better to overestimate your measurements slightly. If your picture ends up printed too big, you can always trim them.

Adjust The Image Size

If you’re planning to put a digital photo in a locket, then all you need to do is change the photo size with a computer program like Photoshop. 

First, you need to determine the image’s pixels by looking at the file’s details. Once you have the proper pixel measurement, you can go to the image settings and scale down your picture based on your locket’s dimensions. 

You don’t have to resize images with computer programs, feel free to use web software that can do the work for you. All you need to do is upload your picture, select the appropriate photo size and shape, and download the perfect-size photo the page gives you.

Match Your Resized Locket Picture To The Image Space

Your locket might be round or heart-shaped, while most photos are square. This means you might need to adjust your image to fit inside the locket. 

Instead of having to cut the shapes out once the image is printed, you can crop your existing image into a heart or circle before printing. Be sure to keep the subject’s face in the center of this shape so the photo looks perfect. 

Another key thing to remember is that your photo needs to have enough background around the subject’s face. If the face is placed in the corner, you may not have enough room to cut without clipping the person’s face.

Print The Picture

This next step is self-explanatory. If you have a good pigment printer and photo paper at home, you can print the resized image directly from your computer. If you don’t, you can save the JPEG file into a USB drive and visit the nearest print shop. 

A good tip to remember is to print several copies in varying sizes for backup, especially since cutting tiny locket pictures can be difficult. These extra photo prints can save you an extra trip to the printing shop.

Fit The Picture Inside Your Locket

Now that you have the print, it’s time to cut them out. Use a pair of scissors and cut out the photo print. Once the image is cut out, you can just fit it right into your locket! If the picture doesn’t perfectly fit the locket, trim the edges of the paper and try again.

Restoring Old Photos To Put In A Locket

Your locket can contain images of any loved one, not just your partner. If you found an old photo of your deceased grandparents as a young couple, for instance, you can put it in a locket to honor their memory. 

However, their photos might not be in the best condition after being tucked away in a photo album for decades. Immediately cutting the photo out to place in a locket isn’t a wise idea either since the photo will be ruined forever if you make a mistake. 

Image Restoration Center is here to help you! We can restore your old family photo and make them look brand new again. Our team of Photoshop experts and historical advisors will make sure that your restored photos don’t just look good – they’ll also be historically accurate!

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