For one hero image that should fill its frame, use object-fit: cover and tune object-position separately for wide and narrow layouts. If the mobile layout needs a substantially different crop or composition, serve a dedicated mobile image with <picture>. Use srcset and sizes to offer resolution choices—not to change the composition.
Choose between repositioning one image and art direction
The right approach depends on whether the same composition remains useful at both sizes. A focal point is an alignment choice: it helps keep the important part of an image inside the visible crop. It cannot make one composition work if a narrow frame removes essential context or clashes with text and other design elements.
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| Approach | Use it when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
One image with object-position |
The subject remains visible and legible in both desktop and mobile crops. | Simple to maintain, but a very different frame can cut off important content. |
srcset and sizes |
The composition stays the same and you want the browser to choose among image resolutions. | Helps select a candidate for the displayed slot; it does not create a different crop. |
<picture> with separate sources |
Mobile needs a different crop, zoom, or composition. | Provides art direction, but you must prepare and maintain additional image variants. |
These are complementary choices: an art-directed mobile source can also have its own resolution candidates. See MDN’s responsive images guide and Shopify’s art-directed hero example.
Set up a hero that crops predictably
First define the hero’s dimensions or aspect ratio at the layouts you support. With object-fit: cover, the image fills the box while preserving its proportions, so some of the source is cropped whenever its aspect ratio differs from the box. contain keeps the entire image visible but may leave unused space. The web.dev responsive images guide explains the distinction.
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.hero {
aspect-ratio: 16 / 7;
overflow: hidden;
}
.hero img {
display: block;
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
object-fit: cover;
object-position: 64% 42%; /* illustrative; tune for this image */
}
@media (max-width: 48rem) {
.hero {
aspect-ratio: 4 / 5;
}
.hero img {
object-position: 54% 38%; /* illustrative; validate the crop */
}
}The percentages above are examples, not recommended defaults. The initial value of object-position is 50% 50%; changing the horizontal and vertical percentages shifts the image’s alignment within its box. The W3C CSS Images Module Level 3 defines the property as determining the alignment of the replaced element inside its box.
Tune the focal point in the actual layouts
- Set the wide and narrow frames. Specify each layout’s dimensions or aspect ratio before adjusting the image. The visible crop depends on the frame as well as the source.
- Fill the frame if that is the design. Apply
object-fit: coverto the image and make it fill the hero box. - Move the crop toward the subject. Change the horizontal and vertical
object-positionvalues. Inspect the edges being removed and make sure the focal subject stays visible. - Check real viewport sizes. Judge the rendered hero at representative wide and narrow widths, with its actual text and layout—not just the image asset in isolation.
- Switch to a mobile composition if needed. If keeping the subject visible requires an extreme crop, or the mobile frame loses important context, make a separate composition and select it with
<picture>.
There is no universal focal coordinate or breakpoint. Choose the breakpoint where the layout or composition stops working, then validate the crop on the actual image.
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Serve alternate crops with <picture>
Use media-conditioned <source> elements for art direction, with the mobile source before the desktop source and an <img> fallback. The values and filenames below are illustrative; choose source dimensions and the switch point for your own design.
<picture>
<source
media="(max-width: 749px)"
srcset="hero-mobile-600.jpg 600w, hero-mobile-1000.jpg 1000w"
sizes="100vw">
<source
media="(min-width: 750px)"
srcset="hero-desktop-1200.jpg 1200w, hero-desktop-2000.jpg 2000w"
sizes="100vw">
<img src="hero-desktop-1200.jpg"
width="2000" height="875"
alt="Describe the meaningful image content">
</picture>The example’s 749/750-pixel boundary is not a standard breakpoint. Set it where the layout changes enough to warrant another composition. The Shopify example shows this pattern, including the mobile-first source order and an image fallback.
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Use srcset and sizes for resolution selection
When the composition is unchanged, provide resolution candidates through srcset. The browser can select a suitable file for the image slot. The sizes attribute describes the slot width the browser should expect; it does not set the rendered width. CSS remains responsible for the image’s layout dimensions. See MDN’s explanation of responsive image markup and web.dev’s responsive-image serving guide.
For art direction, give each composition its own appropriate candidates and slot hint in the matching <source>. This combines a composition change with resolution switching rather than treating one as a replacement for the other.
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Account for loading and image semantics
- Include intrinsic
widthandheighton the image when known. They let the browser reserve space using the image’s aspect ratio. - Do not lazy-load a hero that appears above the fold. Use eager loading, and consider high fetch priority only when that image is genuinely important to the page.
- Write alt text for the image’s meaningful content. Changing a crop or using a background image does not, by itself, determine whether the image is informative or decorative.
These loading recommendations are covered in web.dev’s responsive images guidance; Shopify’s hero example also places fetchpriority on the <img> element.
Recommended Free Tools
CMS focal-point controls and background images
A CMS may expose a focal point as an editor control or generate crop variants, but the implementation varies by platform. For an HTML image, the focal adjustment can be applied with object-position; for a CSS background, use background-position. TYPO3’s Focal Point Editor documentation demonstrates both approaches and mobile crop variants, and notes that focal positioning can further refine an already-cropped image. Kirby’s responsive image documentation describes its own focus-point workflow and distinguishes resolution switching from art direction. These are platform-specific examples, not identical controls available in every CMS.
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