How to Make a Stencil from a Photo (Pure Black & White)

To make a stencil from a photo, open Black & White, add the photo, move the threshold slider until the image reads clearly in pure black and white, click Convert to Black and White!, and download. Unlike grayscale, this leaves only two colours — no greys — which is what stencils, vinyl cutters, laser engravers and screen printing need.

Make a two-tone image step by step

1. Open Black & White and add your photo.
2. Adjust the threshold: every pixel lighter than the threshold becomes white, every darker pixel becomes black.
   • Lower threshold — more white, fewer black areas; good for dark photos.
   • Higher threshold — more black; good for light, washed-out photos.
3. Click Convert to Black and White! and check the result.
4. Download the image.

Prepare the photo first

Stencils work when the subject has clear, separate light and dark areas. A few steps beforehand make a big difference:

1. Remove the background with the Background Remover, so the stencil is just the subject.
2. Boost the contrast with Brightness & Contrast — flat photos turn into blobs; contrasty ones into clean shapes.
3. Crop tight to the subject with the Image Cropper.
4. Then apply the threshold.

Portraits with strong side light, silhouettes, logos and bold objects make the best stencils.

Stencil "islands"

For a cut stencil (paper, card, vinyl, metal), any white area completely surrounded by black — the centre of an "O", the white of an eye — falls out when you cut it. These are called islands. Fix them by:

• Adding thin bridges: small black strips connecting the island to the rest of the stencil. Draw them in an image editor such as the Photo Editor.
• Choosing a threshold that merges small islands into larger shapes.
• Simplifying the image — fewer details mean fewer islands.

Choosing the threshold

There's no single correct threshold — it depends on the photo and on what you're making. Try three values: one where the black areas just start to join up, one in the middle, and one where the shapes are bold and simple. For faces, the best stencils usually keep the eyes, nose shadow and mouth as separate shapes and lose fine skin detail.

Size it for the project

Stencils and engravings are physical objects, so think about the final size. Resize the image to the size you'll cut or engrave at with the Image Resizer — at around 300 pixels per inch — before applying the threshold. Tiny details that look fine on screen may be too small to cut cleanly.

Uses for two-tone images

• Spray-paint and airbrush stencils for walls, furniture and T-shirts (on your own property!).
• Cutting machines such as Cricut and Silhouette — import the black-and-white image and trace it.
• Laser engraving on wood, leather and acrylic.
• Screen printing and lino printing — the black areas print, the white areas don't.
• Rubber stamps and logos for crafts.
• Faxing and photocopying documents clearly.

Positive or negative?

Some processes need the opposite: the area to cut or engrave in white. Swap black and white with Invert Colors after converting.

Grayscale or threshold?

For a normal black-and-white photo, use Image to Grayscale, which keeps all the shades. The threshold tool deliberately throws the shades away — perfect for stencils, wrong for photographs.

Frequently asked questions

Is my photo uploaded?

No. The conversion happens in your browser.

Can I get an SVG for my cutting machine?

This tool saves a pixel image. Most cutting-machine apps can trace a clean black-and-white image into cut paths themselves.

Why does my face stencil look like blobs?

The photo's lighting is too flat. Use a photo with light coming from one side, raise the contrast before converting, and try several threshold values.