ACR Settings and Noise reduction plugin/software

[azrael499]

I shoot with a Canon 7D and I keep my camera set to max quality.

With that being said...I was recently resizing some images and noticed that my ppi is set at 240ppi instead of 300ppi. After doing some research, I went into the settings in ACR to see what is set. My current settings are:

Space: Adobe RGB (1998)
Depth: 8 Bits/Channel
CropSize: 4634 x 3089 (14.3mp)
Res: 300 pixels/inch >>>>NOTE: This was set to 240...I changed it to 300.
Sharpen For: None
Amount: Standard
Open in PS as a Smart Object is checked.

I noticed that I can go up in crop size to 5492 by 3661 (20.1 MP) and I know that I can change the ppi even higher. Can someone please advise on the best settings?

I didn't realize until I was editing images for print that my ppi was set at 240ppi. Thankfully I shoot in RAW and have all of my .CR2 files since I read that ACR takes the RAW data and sets the ppi to the image.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for any free Photoshop plugins or other apps to reduce noise in an image? I may make this as a separate post in here too. I was in a situation where I needed to shoot at 800 and 1000 ISO and in some of the images there is considerable noise. Client may want to print up to an 11x14 and I am not comfortable with the noise.

Thanks so much!
Jaime

 

[KmH]

What version of Photoshop do you use?

The Noise Reduction feature on the Sharpening panel has been very good since ACR 6 (CS 5) pretty much negating the need for an add on noise reduction application.

I would suggest you change your settings to:
Space: ProPhoto RGB
Depth: 16 Bits/Channel
CropSize: use the crop size that is closest to your 7D's 5184 x 3466 px native resolution.
Res: 360 (But, as resolution is increases, document size gets smaller. So the document will be somewhat smaller in Photoshop.)

I don't open every photo in Photoshop as a Smart Object.

Most image editing experts recommend using the widest color gamut available, which in ACR is ProPhoto RGB. The experts also recommend using a 16-bit color depth for editing until you are forced to edit at an 8-bit color depth.
Some Photoshop tools can only be used in 8-bit mode, because doing the math those tools require to function in 16-bit mode would take way to long.
The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop
The Digital Print: Preparing Images in Lightroom and Photoshop for Printing

PPI is print or document resolution, and until a photo will be made into a physical document PPI has no meaning.
PPI and the color space need to be set as last editing steps at image output.
ACR settings prepare the photo for further editing in Photoshop, not as final output settings.

A 5184 x 3466 px photo is bigger than a computer display can show at 100% (1 image pixel = 1 display pixel). For electronic display the pixel dimensions are the only numbers that matter.
An 11x14 will have to be cropped to 4402 x 3466 px and at that pixel resolution will require a document resolution of 314.4 PPI. (4402 px / 14 inches = 314.4 ppi)

pixels / inches = ppi
pixels / ppi = inches
inches x ppi = pixels

 

[azrael499]

Keith,

I have CS5. Is it good to set the res to 360 if there is a chance of large print? What is the downfall of opening every photo as a smart object? Just curious.

I cannot thank you enough for the information you have provided. My first degree was in Graphic Communications/Printing but it has been many years and Photoshop was not the standard at my school back in 1998/1999. My biggest concern is to stay non-destructive with my images. Before I became familiar with ACR I used to keep several copies of my files. As I learn more...I find myself going back to old edits and changing them up.

I did not remember the pixel to document resolution check. I am trying to familiarize myself with resolution more. For example, when to resample. Someone told me it was ok but I did not think it was acceptable unless absolutely necessary.

I see the color space you recommended. When should I be looking to my printer (at this moment, Bay Photo) for what they recommend for color space?

Again, thank you so much. I appreciate the patience of others as I learn.

Thanks,
Jaime