5:4 Large Format

1280 x 1024 px sRGB 5:4 landscape

A 5:4 large-format reference ratio. The proportion of 8 by 10 view cameras, 4 by 5 sheet film, and large-format gallery prints.

about the size of an HD video frame

About this size

The 5:4 ratio is the proportion of the large-format view camera era. 8 by 10 prints, 4 by 5 sheet film, gallery portraits and still life from the documentary photography tradition all share this aspect. The format is slightly portrait-oriented even when held in landscape framing, which is part of why it feels comfortable for centred subjects in a way that wider formats do not.

Large-format composition
Classic displays
Print studies

Pro tips

1 A traditional portrait and still-life ratio. The format is comfortable for centred subjects and head-and-shoulders compositions.
2 Slightly portrait-oriented even when framed landscape. The 5:4 ratio has more vertical weight than the eye expects from a horizontal frame.
3 Carries documentary and gallery-print associations. The format itself signals seriousness in a way that consumer ratios do not.