Gift Wrapping Service
Let ArtPix 3D wrap your present for you! We have a variety of festive patterns for you to choose from while customizing your item.
$29
$27
.50
A slate plate cut to an oval, printed in full colour with your photograph, made in three sizes. An oval is the shape a portrait has been given for two hundred years.
Oval frames belong to Victorian photography, mourning jewellery and family portraits hung in halls. Nobody has to be told this: an oval plate reads as commemorative before anybody looks at the picture in it. That makes it the shape chosen for anniversaries of a death and for portraits of people no longer alive, and the wrong shape for a holiday snapshot.
The three sizes are not scaled versions of each other. The small and medium ovals lie on their side; the large stands upright. That means the large takes a standing portrait and the two smaller ones take a landscape, which is a real decision rather than a question of scale.
The image is printed onto the stone in full colour rather than cut into it. Slate is dark charcoal, so the picture sits on that ground: colours come out deep and a little muted, and the riven texture of the stone shows faintly through. On a commemorative portrait most people find that effect appropriate rather than a limitation.
An oval crops the corners of a rectangular photograph and curves in at the top and bottom, so send a picture in which the subject is already centred and reasonably close. A head-and-shoulders portrait is what the shape was made for; a group photograph loses whoever stands at the ends. For an older picture, a flat scan beats a snapshot of the print, and the original file beats anything that has been forwarded.
Each plate is split along its grain rather than sawn, so the edge is riven and no two are alike. It stands unaided on a shelf or sits in an ordinary plate stand, and the upright large size is the one that suits a wall.
It is worth being clear about what the shape says, because it says it whatever picture goes inside. An oval reads as commemorative: Victorian portraiture, mourning jewellery, the photographs that hang in halls. For a memorial that is exactly right. For a holiday snapshot it is the wrong register, and the plain rectangle is the plate for that.
The image goes on by sublimation printing. Colour Enhancement is available at $1.99 per image.
Made in USA
Every crystal is crafted in Chicago with care, precision, and premium materials.
Same-Day Shipping
Order before 2 PM CT for same-day shipping, other shipping options available at checkout.
30-Day Return
Shop with confidence knowing every order is backed by our 30-day return policy.
Still have questions?
Help CenterRequest a Callback
Leave us your number and we’ll get back to you ASAP!
Chat With Us
Our awesome customer service team is ready to help!
Request a Callback
Leave us your number and we’ll get back to you ASAP!
Chat With Us
Our awesome customer service team is ready to help!
How to Create Your Own Personalized Photo Slate Plaque
Say ‘goodbye’ to standard custom picture frames and ‘hello’ to custom rock slate frames! To make a custom slate photo frame, we use the latest in sublimation printing technology, ensuring your favorite slate pictures never peel or fade. Choose one of our premium custom templates, upload a photo, align and set your photo on the slate just the way you like, add text, and get ready to add functional home decor with a modern touch to your favorite spaces. It’s that easy to make a slate photo print.
Put a picture on a slate rock today! Custom photo stones make great personalized photo gifts for any occasion.
Looking for more creative gifts, keepsakes, and lifestyle goods like our custom slate photo gifts? Check out our shop for custom photo gifts made from crystal, acrylic, glass, bamboo, and more.