There are three ways to put a photo on a headstone: a porcelain or enameled ceramic photo, glued or screwed to the stone; a laser-engraved photo on a granite plaque or directly into the stone; or a QR code that leads to many photos online. A monument mason usually fits the ceramic photo and the engraving; a QR sticker you can fix yourself. Many cemeteries regulate what can be added to a headstone: ask before anything is fixed.
The porcelain or ceramic photo
This is the classic form: a photograph fired into enamel, oval or rectangular, often set in a brass or bronze frame.
- The look: color or black and white, faithful to the original photo.
- Fitting: glued or screwed on, by the mason or by you. The details are below, in "How a ceramic photo is fixed".
- The limit: one photo only, and an object that stands out from the stone. A badly fixed one can be pulled off or fall off in a frost.
The laser-engraved photo
A laser etches the portrait straight into the granite, usually on black stone, where the image shows in light gray, or on a separate plaque that is fixed afterward.
- The look: shades of gray, close to a drawing. A high-contrast photo with a well-lit face gives the best result.
- Fitting: in the workshop, by the mason. Engraving the headstone itself means taking it down; a separate plaque leaves the monument untouched.
- The limit: it is permanent. What is engraved cannot be corrected, and light-colored stone renders a portrait poorly.
This is often when families revisit the lettering too: see adding a name to a headstone and what to put on a headstone.
The QR code
Instead of a photo, a small square engraved on or stuck to the stone opens, when it is scanned with a phone, a page online: dozens of photos, videos, writing, messages from family and friends.
- The look: on the grave, a discreet pattern, no face. Everything happens on the screen.
- Fitting: a sticker takes a few minutes to fix yourself; an engraved plaque goes through the mason.
- The limit: you need a phone to see anything, and the page has to stay online. How long it lasts matters more than with a fired photo.
How and where to fix it is in putting a QR code on a headstone; engraving versus a sticker is in engraved or sticker.
What a photo on a headstone costs
Prices depend on the maker and the country, but the same things drive them everywhere:
| Option | What drives the price | Who fits it |
|---|---|---|
| Ceramic photo | size, color or black and white, the frame (gold rim, border) | the mason, or you |
| Granite plaque with a laser-engraved portrait | plaque size, whether it stands on feet or lies flat | the mason, or you for a plaque laid flat |
| Portrait engraved into the headstone | quote from the mason; taking the stone down is the costly part | the mason |
| QR code sticker | on forevr, from €19 for three stickers, in one payment | you |
Engraving directly into the monument is priced by quote: it often means taking the headstone down, and that is what weighs. When the mason does the fitting, the fitting is charged too. Ask for a written quote that lists each item.
How a ceramic photo is fixed
A ceramic photo is fixed in one of two ways:
- Glued, with an adhesive made for stone (usually supplied with the photo or sold alongside it), on a clean, dry, flat surface, in mild weather rather than in a frost. Hold the photo in place for the setting time given in the instructions.
- Screwed or set into a mount drilled into the stone: this is the mason's job, and the fixing that best resists theft and frost.
An engraved plaque either stands on feet in front of the headstone or is glued flat; a QR sticker goes on like any adhesive, on stone that has been cleaned.
Standing up to sun, rain and frost
None of the three lasts forever, and no lifespan a maker announces can be checked for decades. Three pieces of advice apply to all of them:
- Choose the shadier side when the headstone allows it: full sun wears everything out faster.
- Avoid abrasive products when cleaning: a soft sponge and water are enough. See how to clean a headstone.
- Keep the original photo file: a broken ceramic photo can be remade, a lost file cannot.
Choosing the photo
A sharp photo, facing the camera or at a slight angle, where the face fills a good part of the frame. Avoid cropping a group photo: the face is too small, and there is not enough detail to enlarge it. A plain background, soft light, and a moment when they looked like themselves, which is not necessarily the most recent picture.
Ask the family before ordering. It is the image everyone will see when they come, for years.
Do you need permission?
Often, yes, and it is the cemetery that decides. Many cemeteries regulate what can be fixed to a headstone, and some approve every addition to a monument in advance; churchyards tend to be stricter than other cemeteries. Whether a ceramic photo or a QR code counts as an addition is answered differently from one place to the next. The simplest thing is to ask the cemetery office before anything is fixed, or to let the monument mason, who knows the local rules, ask for you.
One photo, or all the photos
A ceramic photo or an engraving shows a face. A QR code shows a life: childhood photos, holidays, a recorded voice, what family and friends add over the years. Many families do both: a portrait on the stone, and the rest behind the code.
On forevr, the simplest plan starts at €19, in one payment: a memorial page with room for 50 photos and three identical QR stickers to fix yourself, guaranteed for 10 years, free replacement included. The €39 and €89 plans add videos and audio recordings, and extend the guarantee to 20 and 30 years.
Prices, guarantees and plan contents checked in the site's code on September 29, 2026. Each cemetery's own rules apply: the cemetery office is the place to ask.
