Great images and video can make your project stand apart from the crowd, while also representing your style, portfolio, and offerings. Marketing pros have long known that we as consumers do tend to “judge a book by its cover” –– meaning high-quality, clear images and video will make more of a positive impression than low-quality, cluttered ones.

The Basics

We want to make sure your project looks great. For the best look:

• Use JPEG or PNG images that are under 10 MB
• Use images with a 4:3 aspect ratio and no larger than 4000 pixels, in width or height.
• Make sure your image looks sharp at a ratio of 1000x750 pixels. (That’s how it will appear in Project Catalog.)

Adding a video can help you communicate what you offer. To create your video:

• Your video can be up to 60 seconds long and 100 MB in size.
• You don’t have to include audio, but we recommend it for best results. (Note that audio narration needs to be in English unless you are offering non-English work, such as translation or narration services in another language.)
• You can upload a video in mp4 format only.

What to avoid (otherwise we can’t approve your project):

• Low-quality images or video (i.e. pixelated, distorted, blurry)
• Clickbait-type images or video
• Text-heavy images
• Images or video with contact information (such as phone number, email, social media accounts)
• Poorly cropped images
• Images with watermarks
• Any logos, other than yours
• Images or video with references to other companies or services
• Images or video that are unrelated to your services or skills

Important to Know

• You can add as many as 20 images to each project.
• Once added, images cannot be placed in a different order, so you’ll want to take the time to add them in the order you wish them to appear.
• You can add one video per project.
• You can make your video the cover of your project.

Best Practices for Adding Images and Video

Finding just the right image or video to represent your project can seem tough! Remember that the cover image or video in your gallery displays on your project tile when a client is browsing. It can play a big role in their first impression of your work. Here are a few more tips:

• For certain types of work, you may want to include images with text. However, because this affects the user experience, it should be kept to a minimum and the images should be clear.
• If your images include text or watermarks containing direct contact details, these should be removed. But not to worry, your clients will be able to communicate with you through the Upwork Messages once the project is active.
• If your images include icons, text, or watermarks referencing other companies or services, these should be removed. Images should clearly reflect the services being offered through Upwork.
• When selecting images to include, choose professional images that speak to the work being offered. This does not need to reflect portfolio images or actual work samples. For example, you can use photos from sites such as unsplash.comandcanva.com, as long as you only use photos that you have the right to use.

Examples

Here are some examples of acceptable images versus unacceptable ones:

	Acceptable	Not Acceptable
Low-quality images ✓ Choose crisp images ✓ Ensure topic is focused		Images should not be pixelated, distorted, or blurry.
Clickbait-type images ✓ Highlight services offered ✓ Punctuate skills with bullets ✓ Refrain from making claims		Images should not promote a service guarantee.
Text-heavy images ✓ Limit amount of text ✓ Be mindful of format		Images should not contain a lot of text.
Images with contact information ✓ Keep images free of contact info ✓ Include detailed FAQs ✓ Communicate quickly after purchase		Images should not list contact information.
Poorly cropped images ✓ Review image thumbnails before saving ✓ Resize as needed ✓ Cropping for artistic value is ok ✓ Cropped portion should be relevant to project		Images should not be cropped in a way that detracts from the image.
Images with watermarks ✓ Keep images clean ✓ Focus on topic		Images should notcontain watermarks.
Any logos, other than yours ✓ Include logos that you are authorized to use		Images should not contain logos that do not belong to you.
Images with references to other companies or services ✓ Refrain from referencing other platforms		Images should notreference other platforms, companies, or services.
Images that are unrelated to your services or skills ✓ Ensure images are relevant		Images should not relate to services other than the one offered.

Frequently Asked Questions