I’m trying to get a decent image uploaded to my Facebook Timeline, but

I’m trying to get a decent image uploaded to my Facebook Timeline, but it’s so wide that nothing is fitting the way I want it to…any suggestions?
- Carey

This question was answered on March 30, 2012. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Facebook’s Timeline (which became mandatory for business pages on March 30th and will soon be mandatory for all users) allows you to upload a huge cover image that is essentially cropped to look like a panoramic image The problem is that important items in the image often get cut off in order to have it fill the width <strong>(If you are a hater of Facebook’s Timeline, don’t fall for all the scams claiming it can be removed: http://goo.gl/nzFpa ) There are a number of ways to deal with this crazy format besides the limited tool that Facebook offers </strong> Most of the following resources are Facebook apps, meaning that you have to allow them to access your profile info in order to upload images, so be selective For more control over a single image, you can use the free web app from Aviary http://blog.aviary.com/say-goodbye-to-bad-cover-photos which makes it simple to crop an existing image or one that you upload If you don’t care if the cover image is one you took yourself, you can find a number of libraries with optimized images at sites like http://fookcover.com , http://covertimeline.com , http://www.firstcovers.com , http://coverjunction.com and http://www.facebooktimelinebanners.com just to name a few If you want the cover photo to be your own pictures, the easiest way to fill the space is to create a collage so you aren’t trying to fill the space with a single image Most of the collage sites are pretty easy to use because they simply grab random images from your existing photo collection and stick them into pre-formatted templates Some of my favorites are http://thesitecanvas.com and http://picscatter.com If you want more control over which images get used, you can use sites like http://www.coverphotomagic.com and http://timelinecoverbanner.com If you have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, you can install a free app that allows you to create and upload the cover image from your mobile device using Facebook Cover Designer (search the App store from your device to install it) If you are looking for inspiration for that eye-catching Timeline banner presentation, there are a number of very creative people that have uploaded some amazing and artistic cover images that can be found at http://goo.gl/y5oq3 If you want to try to pull something that creative off, you can use try the easy to use templates at http://www.trickedouttimeline.com or if you have Adobe’s Photoshop, you can pull off some pretty advanced tricks by combining your profile image with the theme of your cover image with a template that I found at http://goo.gl/nlOeZ Despite the uproar from those that don’t like the massive changes, Timeline is here to stay (don’t freak out: https://www.datadoctors.com/help/columns/21860 ) so you may as well have fun with it! If you are a business, you should really take some time to learn how Timeline works and how it is impacting how you engage with your fans: http://goo.gl/W2ZNm</p>