Suggestions Please

[jstorck]

Any suggestions to inprove this photo. I was asked by a friend to do something special with it. Size is 900x1200. That should be adequate to print?
I'm new at the printing business. Most of what I do is for the web. Thanks.

J.Storck

[bayhli]

Hi J.Storck,

Your image looks really good to me - particularly like the framing you used and the break-away effect with the ball. Very nicely done. My only suggestion might be to lighten up the background a little if you can.

I always try to use a resolution of 300 ppi to print but I've seen anywhere from 200-300 recommended on the forum as being adequate. Unfortunately I'm not an expert on this but someone more experienced with this than I, will jump in with more advice I'm sure.

[Wendy]

Oh that is nice ...

Great frame and breakout ... the breakout is such nice touch

A lot depends on how large you are going to try to print it as it is quite small. The best thing to do is just try a print and see how it turns out :)

Wendy

[jstorck]

Wendy,

Original file is 9insX12ins @ 300 dpi. (1mb) I resized and compressed it to attach it to the forum. Guess I'll print it when I return home. I travel for work and play with graphics in the evenings while at motels. These are done on a laptop and I check them on a PC when I return home. I did add a gradient layer to the ball to give it a rounded effect instead of flat. That gave it a nice touch.

Thanks,
J.Storck

[Wendy]

Hi ...

Oh that sounds as though you will have plenty to play around with on the original file and it should print just fine :)

That gradient on the ball really is very effective ... its nice work !! :)

Wendy

[Norm F]

I think you've done a nice job with that image and your friend should be pleased. No further improvements required. :) Your current dimensions should print a pretty sharp 3" x 4" photo. If you're lucky, you may be able to stretch it to 4.5" x 6" but you'll likely note a serious loss of quality beyond that.

[road runner]

Good job.

For printing I recommend the following:

Use Image>Resize>Image Size

Set size to H 5 inch, W 7 inch

Set DPI to 300

Click on arrow where ist says "Bicubic"; then select "Bicubic Smoother".

Then click "ok".

When your photo is enlarged, it may have a little noise. If so use the Filter>Blur>Smart Blur and adjust settings to just enough to smooth out any rough spots.

Just before printing, sharpen using Filter>Unsharp Mask.

When you print, make sure you select the proper paper (i,e. Photo Premium etc,) to coincide with what yu are using, and select "Quality". That should generrate a nice 5X7 or 8X10 inch print.

Good luck!

roadrunner

[bayhli]

I'm interested in your solution for the future as well Roadrunner,

You are able to set both the size and resolution of the image by checking resample then, correct?

[Wendy]

Hi Pat ...

Don't forget that if you do use resample then Elements will be either adding pixels or taking them away from the image ... :)

Wendy

[jstorck]

Road Runner.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll have to give it a try after I make a few adjustments. Being new to Elements and not familiar with those commands, I'll have to experiment a bit I'm sure. We'll give it a try when the photo is finished.

Thanks to all.
All suggestions welcome

J.Storck

P.S. I'm considering becoming a subscriber. Is there an index of the available tutorials. I thought I came across it while surfing. Is there a tutorial about readying a photo for print?

[Shari]

Hi,
You definitely should become a subscriber - but plan to become addicted. You will be anxious to get back to your motel when travelling so you can get back to Elements!!! I think the image is great but the first thing I thought is - it would be nice to brighten up the background image a bit.
Shari

[jstorck]

Shari,

I lightened it on the PC and it does look much better. Working on a laptop with color is not always the best. I've been adicted before. Flash with Swishmax, Paint Shop, Excel, Front Page to name a few. Many late nights.

J.Storck

[Wendy]

Hi,

There isn't a list of the tutorials on the subscriber area of the site, I guess that there are just too many to list but there are around 120 Video tutorials and about 60 written tutorials ... and new ones tend to be added on a weekly basis.

They are excellent and it is well worth subscribing ...

Wendy
PS ... I have just has a thought you may have seen a list of the tutorials I have written, they are the only lists I have come across.