Best Practices for Creating Phone Aspect Ratio Vertical on Your Smartphone

When you're taking a snapshot of someone or something and posting it to social media, you'll need to decide if it'll be a portrait or a landscape orientation. And that's where the knowledge regarding the phone aspect ratio vertical comes in!

This post will dive into the rise of the phone aspect ratio vertical, including best practices on using phone ratio calculator and mobile vertical video size based on its final viewing platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, or broadcast.

Part 1 Why Vertical Videos Are in the Frame?

Did you know that there are six aspect ratios in total for videos and photos that marketers and creators use? These aspect ratios are 9:16, 16:9, 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 21:9. The first way to choose the right aspect ratio for your video is whether the video needs to be vertical or horizontal.

A video that's portrait or vertical mode is taller than it is wide. The entire screen is devoted to vertical video capturing while gaining attention.

Smartphones are to be held vertically, and although you can view media always horizontally, it's far simpler for watchers to consume media while keeping their mobile phones upright.

Vertical videos are available in different sizes, but the most standard instances come in the 9:16 aspect ratio. While the traditional format of watching videos on phones has been horizontal with an aspect ratio of 16:9, vertical videos are taller than more comprehensive, hence the reversed aspect ratio. And, this is the main reason you see vertical videos in the frame, and thus, they need to be fixed or rightly shot in terms of ideal phone aspect ratio vertical.

Part 2 Different Aspect Ratios on Mobile Screens

The aspect ratio also measures how tall or wide a display is. Still, it shouldn't be mistaken for 'display/screen size' calculated by diagonally measuring throughout the screen.

The phone aspect ratio vertical is commonly written in proportions with the more petite figure on the right side and the more prominent figure on the left-hand side. It's also sometimes called a decimal, the more prominent figure divided by, the more petite figure. 

It means that a display aspect ratio of 16:9 can also be called an aspect ratio of 1.78, i.e., 16/9.

Types of Aspect ratio

● 16:9 Aspect Ratio

16:9 is one of the most common aspect ratios used on smartphones. Sometimes showcased as 1.78 or 4²:3², the aspect ratio has become typical for smartphones and other devices since 2010.

It generally means there will be 16 pixels in one direction for every 9 pixels in the other for a device with a 16:9 display.

Devices with a 16:9 aspect ratio are usually broad, and they became the standard aspect ratio for smartphones because most contents are also available in the exact format. So you would enjoy videos and gaming in full widescreen quality on a 16:9 aspect ratio device.

On the other hand, you'll experience the "Letterboxing effect" on devices that aren't available in 16:9 aspect ratios and where black bars/bands appear at the bottom and the top of the content you are wandering.

● 18:9 Aspect ratio

This 18:9 aspect ratio was born out of the need to maximize the size of displays without increasing the dimensions of phone sizes.

The narrow design of 18:9 aspect ratio devices assisted for better one-hand grip, smooth multitasking, enhanced usability, and more screen real estate, etc. Yet, because contents are highly present in the 16:9 aspect ratio, there will be "black bands" at the top, bottom or to your display's right or left.

The 18:9 aspect ratio allows for convenient usage of smartphones, provided we put the content-cropping and letterboxing aside.

● 19:9 Aspect ratio

19:9 is another smartphone aspect ratio that is becoming increasingly famous and used by top OEMs like Samsung, Huawei, ASUS, and Apple on their flagship devices.

The smartphones with a 19:9 aspect ratio are available with increased height and 19 pixels in single direction for every 9 pixels in the other. Similar to 18:9, devices with a 19:9 aspect ratio generally have pretty non-existent and slimmer bezels, but you'll enjoy vast screen real estate with the latter.

Understanding iPhone Vertical Video Dimensions

Apple boasts a 16:9 screen for the versions of iPhone 5 onwards. Most Google/Android phones already had a 16:9 screen at that point. Thus, to export a vertical video, you would want it to be 9:16. (16:9 standing up!) and it's the ideal size for iPhone vertical video dimensions.

The highest quality vertical video's output is 720 Horizontal by 1280 vertical for 1080p (1080X1920).

The highest quality vertical video's output is 576 horizontal by 1024 vertical for 720p (720X1280).

Vertical Phone Aspect Ratio for Video

Let's now understand the mobile vertical video size! Vertical video is pretty higher than it is wide. Instead of being shown in a landscape orientation or widescreen format, the way video has traditionally intended for television and cinema and television, and the vertical video rotated by 90 degrees. 

Hold your phone upright and record video in a 9:16 aspect ratio. Hence, the name vertical video is said to be!

It's because if you horizontally hold your phone, the viewable screen area is 16:9 aspect ratio. The same standard is for most HDTV, video production, and cinema screen sizes.

Part 3 Tips to Shoot a Vertical Video

Besides using the photo ratio calculator, we'd like to enlist some tips on getting started with your phone aspect ratio vertical shooting.

1 – High production quality is not essential

Yes, the content is the king, and people or the end customers may not notice your video quality than the content. So, don't be afraid when you start and move ahead with your DIY budget.

2 – Use the Ideal Dimensions

Whether it's iPhone vertical video dimensions or other Android and Windows devices, you need to use the ideal dimensions already discussed above. 

3 – Engage your audience better

You can incorporate little details within the video and engage your audience better. You can also add captions and burn them within the video.

4 – Optimize vertical videos

You can optimize vertical videos for viewing without sound. Try watching your videos without audio to see if they still make sense without that context. You likely won't achieve the same excellent results made possible with good video marketing if they don't.

5 – Capture Attention

Yes, you need to attract the audience and capture their attention within seconds. And, it's the only or one of the best tricks t get your audience hooked for the long term. Don't underestimate the significance of storytelling, and you can thus add them for creative looks.

Part 4 Top 6 Practices for Creating Phone Aspect Ratio Vertical on Your Smartphone

Are you looking to capture the video in the correct phone aspect ratio vertical? In this section, we will discuss a few helpful tips that will assist you in shooting a better vertical video in any condition you want to sort.

1 – Shoot in the desired or ideal aspect ratio

Any video bigger than the aspect ratio of 1:1 is vertical video.

It's possible to create vertical videos two ways: 

● By framing a camera in portrait mode. 

● By rendering it vertically by scaling or cutting the video.

2 – Split the screen

You can use the tall height of the vertical frame to stack horizontal clips on top of each other creatively.

Clips can be related in appearance and content or appear to mend into one another. Various music videos have also used this technique.

You can also try merging various diagonal lines or clips for a unique look.

3 - Fill the vertical space

You can quickly fill vacant space in the frame automatically by getting closer to the subject.

When the camera is angled down and raised high, you automatically get a deep frame for filming long shots that fill space.

The above-the-head perspective provides an attractive and latest POV that serves the exact purpose.

4 - Try not to shake (or use a gimbal or a selfie stick)

While watching a video, jerking camera movements are almost always disturbing and distracting. This must be avoided quickly from side to side when creating vertical videos with minimized space on sides.

While a normal 360-degree or pan rotation is outstanding (and even crucial), cameras cannot manage the data amount they must process once they begin to move too quickly.

Slow down when in doubt!

5 - Remember to resize as per the platform

You don't essentially have to shoot everything at eye level or arm's length when you shoot videos vertically.

Changing your angles and shot length will assist make your videos more interactive, and you can create something compelling out of them within the video frame.

Screen recordings are usually horizontal, but they will be vertically viewed when you upload them to Instagram. They also make sure the edges did not get cut off while uploading them and the writing is still legible.

6 - Add graphics, fun text, GIFs, or stickers

Use text that complements visuals. Make sure your text isn't highlighting your subject. Any graphics elements, such as stickers or emojis, should follow this exact approach.

Line them up where they'll improve your video and scale them up as required.

Pro Tip: Use Wondershare Filmora Video Editor to get your desired phone aspect ratio vertical

Wondershare Filmora - Best Video Editor for Mac/Windows

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5,481,435 people have downloaded it.

Build unique custom animations without breaking a sweat.

Focus on creating epic stories and leave the details to Filmora's auto features.

Start a creative adventure with drag & drop effects and endless possibilities.

Filmora simplifies advanced features to save you time and effort.

Filmora cuts out repetition so you can move on to your next creative breakthrough.

Filmora provides various functions to resize your video, which means you can change video bitrate or directly crop your video when exporting. Despite resizing a video, you can also zoom your video to highlight the best section of your video. Here are certain features or functions of Filmora to resize a video. Download it now and have a try!

● Resize the video size and aspect ratio of video;

● Crop/trim/cut video to highlight an object within the video;

● Add multiple video effects

● Export the edited video portion to a mobile device, DVD, or YouTube;

● Supported OS: Mac OS X (above 10.10) and Windows (Windows 10 included).

Resize Video by Cropping

Step 1: Upload the video to the program

Firstly, upload your media via the "Import" tab or drag and drop it from the Windows File Explorer tab to the User's Album.

Thereafter, drag videos from the User's Album to the Timeline.

Step 2: Crop the video

You can aim at a specific part of the video by cropping and resizing your video display dimensions. Hit the added video on Timeline, a "Crop, and Zoom" button to cut the video. It will appear in the options menu.

Hit it to bring up the editing panel and crop videos.

Hit the Crop tab. Just hover the mouse to move and resize the marquee to decide how to crop the original video.

You have five options while video cropping at the bottom to assist you: Custom, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, and 9:16 aspect radio.

Select Aspect Ratio of Project

After you launch Filmora, you can select the project aspect ratio. There are options among 16:9 (widescreen), 4:3 (standard), 9:16 (portrait), 1:1 (Instagram). Select the one you desire and begin by clicking the New Project.

Key Takeaways from This Episode