Updated October 13, 2026
A megapixel is 1 million pixels, and pixels are the tiny squares that make up your photo. The more pixels, the more information your photo holds and the clearer it is. I’m Katie Donnelly, a Paris photographer, and this is your quick handy dandy guide to megapixels, especially useful if you are planning on buying a camera.
What You’ll Find in This Blog:
What Is a Pixel, and What Is a Megapixel?
You’ve probably heard people talking about the word pixel and you’re just not 100% sure what they’re talking about. No worries, here’s your quick handy dandy guide to pixels.
Pixels are the tiny squares you see when you zoom into your photo a few times too much. A megapixel is 1 million pixels. Pixels are all put together like little puzzle pieces to form that one big photo that you took. The resolution of your photo depends on how many of these little squares are stored together.
So, the more squares, (pixels per inch) the more information your photo has and the more clear your picture will be. If you have fewer pixels (and thus less information), your photo becomes less clear or pixelated.
Why Megapixels Matter
1. When you’re using your automatic zoom on your camera or your phone, you are essentially cutting out tons of megapixels from your photo and diminishing the quality of your photos. Instead of cropping, use your body to get closer to your subject, OR you can use a longer lens to zoom in without disrupting the quality.
2. When you’re purchasing a camera everyone will talk about the amount of megapixels you’ll get with it. The difference is hardly noticeable between 1 or 2 megapixels. If the choice is between a camera with 20mp or a camera with 23mp, it’s not life changing unless you’re planning on making billboards with them (which I would assume you’re not) and even then.. it’s not a huge difference. BUT if you’re choosing between 11 and 20mp, I’d go with the 20mp any day. You’ll see the difference in quality immediately!
An Example of Losing Quality When You Crop
These photos below are examples of losing quality. I would be able to make a billboard of the first one while the second one (while still sharp) probably wouldn’t make even the best 8×10 because it’s cropped in so much.
1/200 sec at f / 2.2, ISO 500
How Many Megapixels Do You Need?
For sharing photos online and making everyday prints, almost any current camera or phone has enough. As I said above, the difference between 20 and 23 megapixels is hardly noticeable. What matters more is not throwing pixels away: get closer with your feet instead of using your automatic zoom or cropping heavily afterwards.
This lesson is part of The Authentic Portrait: A Parent’s Guide to Documenting Childhood, my photography guide for parents who want to learn the basics and take better photos of their kids, without spending hours and hours taking classes. I am working on a new edition of the guide. Until it is ready, you can read every lesson in The Authentic Portrait series.
Next lessons: the differences between lenses, what is camera RAW, and common photo mistakes and how to fix them.
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Megapixel Questions
A megapixel is 1 million pixels. Pixels are the tiny squares that fit together like puzzle pieces to form your photo.
More megapixels mean more detail, which matters for large prints and cropping. A small difference, like 20 versus 23 megapixels, is hardly noticeable. A big difference, like 11 versus 20, is.
A photo looks pixelated when it has too few pixels for the size you are viewing it at. This often happens after using digital zoom or cropping in a lot.
Move closer. Automatic zoom on a phone or compact camera cuts megapixels out of your photo and lowers the quality. Use your body to get closer, or use a longer lens.
About the author
Katie Donnelly, Paris Photographer
Katie Donnelly is an American photographer who opened her Paris studio in 2013 and was voted Best Portrait Photographer in Paris in 2017. She and her English-speaking team photograph families, couples and solo travelers at sunrise, so visitors go home with relaxed, real portraits instead of rushed selfies. Meet Katie and the team.
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