giving digital media to clients

Cuervo79 · Feb 20, 2007

Ok after reading a thread that had something to do with this it got me thinking.
At the end of last year I covered a beauty contest, and after it ended some contestants asked me for photos to take home. It all happened very quickly, and since the event I covered was not for them but for the agency that made it, I got cought off guard so I charged them a low rate.
Trying to correct the low charge I didn't give them Full size jpegs. I lowered the print size so all the jpegs were 4 x 6 inches and the resolution was 150 dpi.

Now I'm not that sure that by doing that I secured that they could only print a 4 x 6.

I want to know if there is a way of giving digital media to your client with the peace of mind that if they try to enlarge it they will get a low quality result if they print it in a larger size than the one I gave them.

I usually work with prints so i don't have that problem, but in case they want a cd with jpegs next time I can give one and be sure that all they can get out of it are prints to the size i give them.

My experience with photoshop has been mostly with graphic design work and photo retouching but I never experimented with limiting resolutions for printing.

craig · Feb 21, 2007

640 x 480 pixels @ 72 dpi is standard screen resolution. I doubt (?) you could get a pro quality print from it.

Big Mike · Feb 21, 2007

The problem is that even if you give them a low rez file...they may try to print it anyway. It will look like crap and they will think that it's you...rather than them....or worse, it will look like crap and they will tell other people that you are a poor photographer.

You could put the shots onto a CD/DVD slide show...that way, they can view the images...but it would take a bit of computer savvy to get the files off for printing.
Another option is to put a 'water mark'...just put in a "@ Cuervo79" over all the images. Maybe a dark font in the corner...or maybe an opaque font right over the image. You can use Photoshop or other software to automatically put in a watermark. This way, they can view the images...but they probably won't print them. If they want to order files for printing, or order prints...then they have to come back to you and pay for them.

What's the best thing to do :scratch:...if you figure it out, let me know.

Stevedevil · Feb 21, 2007

As a little note, if you are going to give full frame with a watermark then make sure its across the centre of the photo in some way otherwise it can be cropped off

Cheers

Steve

EOS_JD · Feb 21, 2007

craig said:
640 x 480 pixels @ 72 dpi is standard screen resolution. I doubt (?) you could get a pro quality print from it.

FYI a 640 x 480 pixel image is the same at 72ppi or at 300ppi.... It's still a 640x480 pixel image. the ppi (not dpi) value makes no difference.

The 6x4 @ 150ppi the OP noted is a 900x600 pixel image. This is small but you can still print a decent size from this. I'd say 600 pixels on the longest edge (some images won't suit a crop) should be what you aim for. ppi doesn't matter.

Cheers
Jim

Cuervo79 · Feb 21, 2007

all the jpegs I gave had a water mark and a text file in the cd (with my name, address, email, phone number, and saying that "the comercial use of this images is prohibited) , the slideshow is a good idea, but most people want at least a 4 x 6 print.
I don't mind that they print them and it comes out looking pixelated since the contestants lived outside the country (I guess it would be hard to ask for prints when I'm in another country), What I want is for exampe give them a Jpeg that they can print a decent 4 x 6 but if they go for a 8 x 10 look pixelated, dunno if you can get a decent 4x6 from a 640 x 480.

I only give digital media to my friends and when work is going to be on the web.

EOS_JD said:
FYI a 640 x 480 pixel image is the same at 72ppi or at 300ppi.... It's still a 640x480 pixel image. the ppi (not dpi) value makes no difference.

Sadly when we talk DPI where talking photoshop so it does make a difference if you put 72dpi and 300 dpi in the image size window

EOS_JD · Feb 21, 2007

Cuervo79 said:
all the jpegs I gave had a water mark and a text file in the cd (with my name, address, email, phone number, and saying that "the comercial use of this images is prohibited) , the slideshow is a good idea, but most people want at least a 4 x 6 print.
I don't mind that they print them and it comes out looking pixelated since the contestants lived outside the country (I guess it would be hard to ask for prints when I'm in another country), What I want is for exampe give them a Jpeg that they can print a decent 4 x 6 but if they go for a 8 x 10 look pixelated, dunno if you can get a decent 4x6 from a 640 x 480.

I only give digital media to my friends and when work is going to be on the web.

Sadly when we talk DPI where talking photoshop so it does make a difference if you put 72dpi and 300 dpi in the image size window

Trust me 100%. PPI (the correct term) or DPI (the wrong term) does NOT make a difference when resizing your files.

the only important information is the number of pixels.

EOS_JD · Feb 21, 2007

Cuervo79 said:
Sadly when we talk DPI where talking photoshop so it does make a difference if you put 72dpi and 300 dpi in the image size window

Try this

open one of the files - 6x4 @ 150ppi.

Look at the number of pixels - it'll be 900 x 600

Switch off resampling..

Now make the file 300ppi....

How many pixels does the image have now?..... 900 x 600

ppi does not make any difference when resizing like this.

Big Mike · Feb 21, 2007

so it does make a difference if you put 72dpi and 300 dpi in the image size window

Only if you 'resample' the image...(and the correct term is PPI, DPI is a printer setting)

A 640 x 480 pixel image is the same...whether it's 10 PPI or 10,000 PPI. If you resample the image...then the 640 x 480 will change.

Stevedevil · Feb 21, 2007

I think I understand your question, and I agree with Jim, as if you store the image 640 x 480 then you will get around 106 ppi 640 / 6 ) on the longer, but if you print 10 x 8 then you get 64ppi, more grainy I would say

Steve

EOS_JD · Feb 21, 2007

Yip if you print a 640 x 480 pixel image at 300ppi the print size would be 2.13" x 1.6"

If you print trhe 640 x 480 at 150ppi the print size would be 4.26" x 3.2"

and so on.....

Cuervo79 · Feb 21, 2007

EOS_JD said:
Yip if you print a 640 x 480 pixel image at 300ppi the print size would be 2.13" x 1.6"

If you print trhe 640 x 480 at 150ppi the print size would be 4.26" x 3.2"

and so on.....

well, thanx for the refresh.

What would you suggest the size be? a 640 x 480? for a decent 4 x 6 but a pixelated 8x10?

EOS_JD · Feb 21, 2007

Cuervo79 said:
well, thanx for the refresh.

What would you suggest the size be? a 640 x 480? for a decent 4 x 6 but a pixelated 8x10?

That's a hard one. A 640 x 480 image is small even for a 6x4. Perhaps 1080 x 720 which allows a 6x4 at 180ppi. However I can easily resample this to give a decent 10x8.

Also remember that a 6x4 and a 10x8 are different ratios. To get a 10x8 from a 6x4 image you'll probably need to crop some of it off. This means losing pixels.

6x4 @ 180ppi = 1080 x 720
10x8 @ 90ppi = 900 x 720

Better to get them printed yourself and send them on I'd say.

Stevedevil · Feb 21, 2007

Maybe only use 100ppi, as this will make a fair 6 x 4, but as you said will this leave people thinking that your photography is to blame,

Tough One, as Jim Said print them off I guess

Steve

EOS_JD · Feb 21, 2007

6x4 @ 100ppi is a 600x400 pixel image. That is small for a 6x4. If you are selling someone an image you need to give them a quality shot really. THing is give them a print and they can scan and make nice A3's!!!

There is no way around this. Do the best you can and charge accordingly.