You’ve got a fantastic image you’re excited to share on social media, but when you upload it, you’re met with frustration. The image is either cropped awkwardly or left with unattractive black borders because of the varying image size requirements on different platforms.
But don’t worry! You can turn to AI image expansion tools to fix this. These cutting-edge tools use artificial intelligence to intelligently extend the edges of your image, filling in new pixels that match the content and style of the original. This way, your expanded image looks seamless and natural.
I’ve personally tried out 5 of these AI image expansion tools, each with its own unique features. Here they are for you to consider:
- Uncrop by Stability AI – Suitable for people seeking a free option.
- Promeai Outpainting – The user targeting is biased towards architects, product designers, etc.
- Fotor AI Image Expander – Suitable for people seeking low prices.
- Photoshop Generative Fill – Suitable for professional users.
- Canva Magic Expand – Best value for money.
#5. Uncrop by Stability AI
Uncrop is an aspect ratio editing tool developed based on the Stability AI model. It can analyze the existing content of an image and intelligently generate the missing parts, achieving natural and coherent image expansion. Stability AI is an AI research company based in London, UK, dedicated to developing and promoting the most advanced artificial intelligence technologies. The company was founded in 2020 by a group of AI experts from top institutions such as the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London.
How to use Uncrop to expand an image:
Step 1: Go to the usage interface of Uncrop, https://clipdrop.co/uncrop. Then click the blue button to upload the image you want to expand.
Step 2: Choose the aspect ratio and size for the image you want to expand. You can customize or select the preset Landscape, Portrait, Square. Then click Next, and a pop-up will prompt you to register to proceed to the next step. Free registered users can process 20 images per day, which is enough for personal users. If you need to process a large number of images, you can upgrade to a Pro user, with a subscription fee of $13 per month.
Step 3: Uncrop starts to expand the image according to your requirements. After several seconds to a few minutes, 4 images will be generated for you to choose from. If you are not satisfied with these 4, you can click the + button to generate 4 more until you find one that meets your expectations. Then click the Download button in the top right corner to download it to your local device.
My User Experience:
Pros: Uncrop has the clearest and most user-friendly interface and operation logic among all the image expansion tools I have used, and it can generate expanded images that meet my needs, and it can be used for free with a registered account.
Cons: Free users need to queue to extend images. Depending on the number of online users at that time, the waiting time can vary from several seconds to a few minutes.
#4. Promeai Outpainting
PromeAI is an AI design platform. Architects, product designers, social media enthusiasts, or marketers can input their ideas and creativity into PromeAI, and the artificial intelligence will seamlessly transform these inputs into visual effects, eliminating the tedious work in the design process. Promeai Outpainting is one of the AI image expansion tools that can extend the canvas of an image beyond its original boundaries. Promeai Outpainting can understand the context and style of the original image, and when you expand it, the AI predicts and generates content that matches the existing image, ensuring naturalness and coherence.
How to Use Promeai Outpainting Tool:
Step 1: Open Promeai Outpainting
Go to the Promeai official website, https://www.promeai.com/, hover over the AI Tools dropdown menu at the top navigation, and click Outpainting.
Step 2: Upload the Image You Want to Expand
In the Promeai Outpainting tool interface, click the “+” button, then select the image you want to expand. Promeai supports multiple image formats, so you don’t need to worry about compatibility issues.
Step 3: Select the Expansion Direction
After uploading the image, you will see 7 preset image expansion aspect ratios and sizes. Click to select one that meets your needs.
Promeai also provides a text command box where you can enter keywords to help Promeai generate the expanded image you expect. For example, if you want to expand a landscape photo upwards, you can mention “mountains” or “clear sky” to provide hints for AI generation.
Step 4: Generate the Expanded Image
Click the Generate button. Promeai AI will analyze your image and generate 3 image variants based on your selected expansion direction and additional information provided. Take some time to compare them and pick the one that best meets your needs.
Step 5: Download or Save the Expanded Image
After selecting your preferred version, you can download the image to your local device or save it in Promeai assets. Note that Promeai free users can only download low-resolution versions. You need to upgrade to a paid subscription to download high-resolution or clearer Upscale versions. The subscription fee is $29 per month.
My User Experience:
Pros: The operation logic is clear and smooth, and it can generate expanded images that meet my requirements.
Cons: Compared with other AI image expansion tools, Promeai Outpainting’s generation speed is slightly slower.
#3. Fotor AI Image Expander
Fotor is a one-stop image editing and design platform that offers many AI-driven image editing tools, and the Image Extender is one of them. Fotor’s Image Extender allows you to perform AI Inpainting inside the image and AI Outpainting outside the image. AI Inpainting: Use the Fotor AI Magic tool to erase the part of the image you wish to recreate, then tell the AI Image Extender the new elements you want to generate. After a few seconds, the new elements will be generated in the part you previously erased. AI Outpainting: Automatically expand the background of the image outward. You can also enter a description of the background you want in text, and the AI will generate a new background according to your requirements.
4 Steps to Expand an Image with Fotor:
Step 1: Click to register for a free Fotor account, https://www.fotor.com/. Fotor free users can expand up to 8 images per day, and paid users can remove this restriction, with the lowest membership price at 2.83 euros/month (about $3.08).
Step 2: After logging in, click “AI Tools” in the left menu bar and then select “AI Extender (Beta)” to enter the tool interface. After that, click “Open Image” to upload the image you want to expand.
Step 3: Slide “Zoom Out” to determine the final size of the image you want to expand. You can also click “Custom size” to customize the final image size, then click “Generate” to start expanding the image.
Step 4: After a few seconds, 3 different expanded images will be generated for you to choose from. If you are not satisfied, you can generate more. After determining the final image you want, click the “Apply” button. Afterward, click “Download” to download it to your local device.
My User Experience:
Pros: I used Fotor to extend the canvas of five images, and it swiftly completed the task in just a few seconds, and I was satisfied with the outcomes.
Cons: Fotor says its expander can use AI to generate customized elements inside the image and customized backgrounds outside the image. I looked for a long time and couldn’t find the operation entrance, which wasted a lot of my time.
#2. Photoshop Generative Fill
The latest 2024 version of Photoshop introduced the Generative Fill feature, which allows you to expand the canvas size of an image and then use AI technology to generate an expanded part that seamlessly blends with the original content. Compared to Photoshop’s traditional Content Aware Fill image expansion feature, Generative Fill produces more realistic and natural results. Generative Fill also allows you to remove or add objects or elements in the image, and then automatically blend the surrounding pixels to fill the gap.
How to use Generative Fill to expand an image:
Step 1: Preparation
Download and install the Creative Cloud desktop application to get the latest version of Photoshop 2024.
Step 2: Expand the canvas
Import the image you want to expand, select the crop tool, and then drag the crop frame left and right to expand the canvas outward. Release the mouse button, and Photoshop will fill the extra canvas with the default background color.
Step 3: Select the expansion area
Switch to the rectangular marquee tool, draw a selection outline around the imported image, being careful not to draw too close to the edge of the image, but slightly inward to achieve seamless integration. Then, select Inverse to select the expansion area.
Step 4: Enable Generative Fill
Near the image, there is a taskbar, find and click the Generative Fill button. In the Generative Fill text command box, leave it blank to let Photoshop fill the area with content that matches the original photo. Click “Generate,” and a progress bar will appear.
Step 6: Witness the magic
After a few seconds, the newly expanded canvas will be filled with new, original AI-generated content. The newly generated part integrates seamlessly with the original image and maintains lighting, shadows, perspective, and even depth of field.
Step 7: 3 variants
In the properties panel, you’ll find 3 expanded image variants. Use the left and right arrows to switch between them and choose the one you are most satisfied with.
Step 8: Fine-tune with the Remove Tool (optional)
If there are some elements in the expanded image that you think are superfluous, you can use Photoshop’s Remove Tool to erase these elements, and the AI will automatically fill in the erased part with content consistent with the surroundings.
My User Experience:
Pros: Generative Fill can quickly generate the expanded part of the image, with each pixel matching the original image’s lighting, perspective, color, and shadows, making it very realistic and hard to detect that it has been edited.
Cons: The generated results are usually satisfactory, but sometimes they can perform poorly, especially when the image contains complex or special image elements.
#1. Canva Magic Expand
Canva’s Magic Expand image expansion tool leverages AI technology to generate content beyond the frame of the image, producing images of different sizes and aspect ratios for social media, advertising materials, posters and infographics, website design, and more, avoiding the issue of images being forcibly enlarged or cropped, which can affect the user experience. Canva Magic Expand has preset common image aspect ratios for you to choose from for expansion and also allows you to freely customize the aspect ratio you want. The expanded image will automatically match the color and style of the original image, maintaining overall consistency.
How to use Canva AI Image Expander:
Step 1: Go to the Canva official website, https://www.canva.com/, and register for a free account.
Step 2: Click on the “Photo Editor” option under the “Design Spotlight” menu at the top navigation, then click the Upload your image button to upload an image you want to expand.
Step 3: Select the image you uploaded, then click the “Magic Expand” icon on the left. Since Magic Expand is a paid feature, you will be prompted to subscribe to Canva at this point, with a monthly fee of $14.99. You can click Free trial to try it for 30 days before deciding whether to subscribe.
Step 4: Next, choose the size you want to expand the image to. You can freely define or directly select the given aspect ratios, such as 1:1, 16:9, 5:4, 4:5, 4:3, 3:4, 3:2, 2:3, etc. After selecting, click the Magic Expand button to start the image expansion.
Step 5: After about 10 seconds, you will see the expanded image, with 4 generated images for you to choose from. If you are not satisfied with these 4, you can click the “Generate new results” button for another expansion.
Step 6: When you get the expanded image you are satisfied with, click the “Resize & Magic Switch” button to confirm or readjust the size of the expanded image.
Note: If you try to download the expanded image directly by clicking the “Download” button in the top right corner at this point, it will not be successful, and the downloaded image will still be the unexpanded original. I am also puzzled as to why “Resize & Magic Switch” is necessary before downloading the expanded image.
Step 7: After completing “Resize & Magic Switch”, you can directly click the “Download” or “Share” button in the top right corner to download the image. Canva provides formats such as PNG, JPG for you to choose from.
My User Experience:
Pros: The Canva Magic Expand can quickly generate expanded images that meet my needs, and the image quality is also very good.
Cons: The operation logic is a bit confusing, especially the “Resize & Magic Switch” part, which made me want to give up using it several times.
