How To Add a Picture To a Headstone

When you’re commissioning a memorial for a loved one who has passed, you may have the option of attaching a photo of their face to the headstone itself. While you can pay extra for the memorial company to do it for you, it’s easier on your all-important budget to purchase the photo separately and attach it yourself to the finished headstone. Learning how to add a picture to a headstone is easier than it may seem and can save you hundreds of dollars in your limited funeral and memorial budget.

Order the Weather-Proof Photo

The first step is to order and personalize your ceramic photo of choice. Make sure the picture is high-quality and doesn’t require any significant edits before you send it in. Choose one that displays your loved one proudly in bright light with a simple background to make the photo stand out more. When ordering, keep the ideal dimensions in mind to ensure a proper fit—you will need to measure the area where you’d like to place the picture.

Prepare the Headstone for Placement

With the photo now in your possession and your headstone placed at your loved one’s gravesite, all you need to do is attach the two. Before you place the adhesive onto the smooth stone, ensure it’s clean by wiping the area with rubbing alcohol. Let the alcohol dry—it won’t take too long.

Now, without peeling the adhesive cover off, take your ceramic photo and place it against the headstone in the exact position you’ll want it to sit. Take a pencil and mark with small lines where the top and one of the sides line up. These markings will help you keep the photo straight when you adhere it to the monument.

Attach the Photo

It’s finally time to peel off the adhesive’s cover and stick it to the headstone. Using your lines for reference, carefully press the sticky adhesive to the clean surface of the headstone. Apply pressure to the photo for at least two minutes to ensure a solid bond.

Seal With Clear Silicone Caulk

To ensure that the adhesive stays strong in all weather and close the gap between the picture and the headstone, seal around the frame’s edges with silicone caulk. Use a clear caulk to hide the seal without its appearance detracting from the monument as a whole. The caulk’s bond will prevent water from seeping underneath the gap between the headstone and the ceramic picture and damaging the adhesive or wedging the image off after a freeze.

Now that you know how to add a picture to a headstone yourself, you can feel comfortable honoring your loved ones with a personalized monument in a way you can afford. Whether you’re adding a photo to an older, existing monument or a recent gravestone, MemorialPics provides high-quality ceramic photos with memorial picture frames for headstones that you can afford.