photography or photoshop question?

[kellyLynne]

I dont usually print out my pics at home. And not sure if this is a photography or a pse question. But, i notice a lot of times i go to print my pics out at a lab, and if i want wallets or 4x6's, it crops out an elbow, or top of the head, etc. Can they be resized on pse to fit nicely into a wallet size? or am I making a photography mistake?

[Chuck S.]

KellyLynne, it's a PSE question. Basically, you have to crop (cut to fit) your images in PSE so they'll be printed in the sizes you want without the lab doing some automatic cropping for you. The image coming out of your camera is a rectangle with a constant ratio of long side to short side - most likely 4 to 3. Unfortunately, this ratio doesn't match up with any of the regular print sizes (6 to 4, 10 to 8, etc.) so you need to use the Crop tool using the ratio of the print you're going to have them make.

Unfortunately, this does often result in your having to make choices of what stays and what goes as you cut the image to fit. It's best not to get too close to your subject when taking the photo so you leave a little room for cropping.

Hope that gets you started!

[NMarti]

Oddly enough, I cropped a photo this week to 8x10 in photoshop and took it to one of those kiosks at the drugstore to print it. I chose 8x10 as my print size and it STILL cropped it. I can't figure out why but I already had it cropped close to eliminate some unwanted background so this resulted in it cutting off part of the head. It also cropped one I had resized to 5x7 when I tried to make a 5x7 print but that one at least had room to crop again.

[Chuck S.]

Oddly enough, I cropped a photo this week to 8x10 in photoshop and took it to one of those kiosks at the drugstore to print it. I chose 8x10 as my print size and it STILL cropped it. I can't figure out why but I already had it cropped close to eliminate some unwanted background so this resulted in it cutting off part of the head. It also cropped one I had resized to 5x7 when I tried to make a 5x7 print but that one at least had room to crop again.

Nancy, that seems to be a common problem recently: Jen Clark has been having that issue with WalMart in her area. I can't imagine why that's happening; sounds like their machines are out of calibration. I guess if you could figure out how much is being cropped by the printer you could add that amount to the canvas surrounding your photo before having it processed by the lab.

A tangential issue is that the mats sold with frames often do their own "cropping", i.e., the mat in a frame for a 4x6 photo may have an opening of only 3 3/4 inches by 5 3/4 inches, with the result being that part of your 4x6 is hidden by the mat.

Almost enough to drive you to printing at home....:confused:

[Chuck S.]

Here's a thought at what might be wrong at the photo labs:

If their machines can't read the Photoshop size information (length in inches, width in inches, and resolution in pixels per inch) they may just read the pixel dimensions then print based on a standard resolution, - say 240 pixels per inch. If you've cropped your image in PSE to 4 inches by 6 inches by 300 ppi, the lab machine may see that as a lot larger than their standard and crop to get to 4 inches by 6 inches by 240 ppi.

Just a thought....maybe off-base. Could be tested, though, by submitting the same photo at several different resolutions to see how they come out.

[elwoodsusanm]

I prefer to print at home - you get exactly what you want!:)

[christellf]

I think it may have something to do with digital v/s film cameras. The size is not the same. I had problems with my Christmas card photo. I kept trying to resize it with PSE & kept cutting off the sides. I finally tried: Save for web & actually changed the percent to 90 or lower & put JPEG High & this worked for me. Nothing was cut off. Might want to try it.
Christell

[kellyLynne]

I would love to print at home, if i got very very professional results. Right now I have a Lexmark all in one Printer. Does not print out as good as the local lab...can anyone suggest a printer that does print out very high quality images? (i am shooting senior portraits)

[elwoodsusanm]

Epson Stylus 1400 gives excellent prints. It uses Claria ink. I have done all of my daughter's wedding photos and they are superb! Also it is A3 which is ideal for 12"x12" for scrapbooking.:)

[ufauxreal]

I have a lab near me that consistenty does an excellent job. I've been going to them for 20 yrs., with film before digital. I do crop my photos in PSE to the size I want. I have learned that the lab always crops a little bit off the edges, so I have learned to leave a little extra room around the edges.

Joan

[JonE]

I prefer to print at home - you get exactly what you want!:)

Oh, well, that would be nice if my printer ever would print exactly what I want! :D Way back when I posted a whole thing about how borderless prints get cut off and how to find the well-hidden slider that controls the unasked for upsizing of prints. :eek:

[JonE]

I would love to print at home, if i got very very professional results. Right now I have a Lexmark all in one Printer. Does not print out as good as the local lab...can anyone suggest a printer that does print out very high quality images? (i am shooting senior portraits)

Epson Stylus Photo series - virtually as good as the local lab if not just as good. I have the RX600 and it's a multifunction (scanner etc.) but there are other models that are just photo or have other combos of functions. You shouldn't have to pay much at all to get a great printer. All the $ is in the ink and paper so the mfgrs virtually give away the printers.