August 23, 2026
Why your reference came back stretched
Hand a square reference to a model generating widescreen and something has to give. Providers stretch. We would rather warn you first.
Your reference image has an aspect ratio. So does the thing you're generating. When those two disagree, the provider has to reconcile them somehow, and the way providers reconcile them is almost never the way you would.
They stretch. They don't letterbox.
Give a 1:1 portrait to a model producing 16:9 and the usual behaviour is a non-uniform scale. Your subject comes back subtly wider than they were. It isn't obvious on its own, which is how it survives review and then turns up later as "the character looks a bit off in the wide shots".
What we do about it
- Reference images get measured when you add them, so their real dimensions are known before a generation starts.
- The composer warns you when an attached reference disagrees badly with your target aspect, and offers to crop it instead of letting it get stretched.
- When a plan is finalised, a target aspect that clashes with your references can be snapped to one that doesn't.
Cropping has consequences too, since it throws away pixels at the edges. We're not claiming cropping is correct. We're claiming the decision should be visible and yours, instead of implicit and the provider's.
A habit that saves you time
Shoot or generate your references in the aspect you actually work in, or square enough that a crop either way is safe. A reference is a long-lived asset. The ten seconds you spend framing it well get paid back every time you mention it.