Common Issues

Using the Photo Focus field for Page Banners

  • Address the common issue: My subject is getting cut off in banner images
  • Learn how to solve this issue with the new Photo Focus field
  • See how page banners looked before and after implementing this new option

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In Core v1.28, we added a Photo Focus field to the banners. This allows users to select the focus of their photos so the styles can determine how to handle the photo positioning when the screen gets bigger or smaller.

So, why are we writing an entire blog post about this?

Because it makes information like this a little less relevant:

You can now have the focus of your content in any of the extremes of your photo because this feature will tell the browser to anchor to the area you specify.

If the focus of your photo in the top right corner, as long as you mark the correct photo focus point, your photo will anchor to that position as the browser gets bigger or smaller.

In the past, using a photo like this one on the Office of the Provost website might have cut off the provost depending on the size of the user’s browser.

Screenshot of the Office of the Provost website banner

Now, using the Photo Focus field, we can set the focus to the center right, and the styles will ensure the provost remains in view on smaller browsers.

The Office of the Provost website on a mobile resolution

Where can I find this in Cascade?

1. Edit the page with your banner

Log in to Cascade and navigate to the specific page you want to make changes to.

Use the Edit in Cascade bookmark to make editing a page much easier!

2. Look for the Banner options and expand it

The banner option in Cascade

3. Within the Banner options, find the Background Position drop-down menu to modify the background positioning as desired

The Photo Focus option in Cascade once you expand the banner accordion

Before and After

Before implementing this new option, you might have experienced this with your page banners:

Before: the researcher's head was cut off at the top of the image
Before: the researcher's head was cut off at the top of the image 
After: using the Photo Focus option to adjust the focus on the photo
After: using the Photo Focus option to adjust the focus on the photo
Before: the student’s facial expression and the GC library are in focus
Before: the student’s facial expression and the GC library are in focus
After: using the Photo Focus option to adjust the focus on the student
After: using the Photo Focus option to adjust the focus on the student

This new field is also available in the Full-width content + media module.

Group photo of Stempel staff
Before: the top of this group photo is not in focus which results in their heads being cut off.
Group photo of the Stempel staff using the photo focus field
After: using the Photo Focus option to adjust the focus on the group.

Preferred image sizes

If you are unsure what size your banner should be, refer to Best Practices for Images.

For guidance on image sizes for other modules check out our preferred image sizes by module table.

Remember, regardless of the size of the photos, it’s always important to optimize your images for the web.