ARGH! Please help with aspect ratios and printing!

KenC · Mar 17, 2011

Why so much concern about the borders on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of media? What's important is how you intend to show your work - if in a mat/frame, then the mat will be cut evenly to show the image, if electronically, then you can put an even black (or any other) border around the image. Another concern touched on by others above, but perhaps lost in the calculations, is that if you do crop your image to get even borders on a page, then you may be presenting the image in a less than ideal aspect ratio and/or composition, which is something to avoid. I've seen people fall into this trap when they want to use a standard size pre-cut mat or mounting board - all of their images are always cropped the same way to accommodate that, and for some of the images it is obvious that the composition is not good.

GooniesNeverSayDie11 · Mar 17, 2011

Creating a new document will NOT change the photo aspect ratio when you drag it. You have to crop the shot and throw some away. Sometimes it is very important to know your intended print size when composing your shot or atleast leave a little space around the edges always.( or simply always try to print in the camerad native aspect ratio ). When shooting pics for family members, I always ask what size frames they have. This is also why I NEVER buy 8x10 frames.

Big Mike · Mar 17, 2011

Creating a new document will NOT change the photo aspect ratio when you drag it.

It won't change the image, but it will show you the size/ratio that you want...and it allows you to move/drag/resize the image layer around on the new canvas. The image isn't 'cropped' in the traditional sense, but whatever falls outside of the new canvas space, will be cropped when flatten and save the image.

allthingsapple · Mar 17, 2011

KenC said:
Why so much concern about the borders on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of media? What's important is how you intend to show your work - if in a mat/frame, then the mat will be cut evenly to show the image, if electronically, then you can put an even black (or any other) border around the image. Another concern touched on by others above, but perhaps lost in the calculations, is that if you do crop your image to get even borders on a page, then you may be presenting the image in a less than ideal aspect ratio and/or composition, which is something to avoid. I've seen people fall into this trap when they want to use a standard size pre-cut mat or mounting board - all of their images are always cropped the same way to accommodate that, and for some of the images it is obvious that the composition is not good.

You ask a very good question Ken. Here's my answer: I have an opportunity this weekend to participate in a portfolio review. Even at my beginner level, I will be allowed to present 20-30 images and geet feedback from various curators, gallery directors, teachers, pros, etc etc. I will be presenting loose photos via a portfolio box, and all photos will have been printed by me on 8.5 X 11 paper. I want to make a good presentation and for some reason was thinking that it would look less favorable to have images with all different sized borders, ranging from small to large to even on all sides to uneven, and everything in between.

But, if I am interpreting your post correctly, it sounds like the paper itself is merely a channel for presenting the image, regardless of how much space the actual image occupies within the 8.5 X 11 paper (within reason, of course). What matters most is the image itself, and NOT necessarily altering the image in order to fit evenly on to a piece of paper. Am I getting your point?

So if I am right, and for anyone who has ever participated in a similar review to what I'm describing, do the reviewers particularly care if the images are all slightly different on the paper, make use of inconsistent borders, etc?

Thanks again------

allthingsapple · Mar 17, 2011

Big Mike said:
Creating a new document will NOT change the photo aspect ratio when you drag it.

Click to expand...

It won't change the image, but it will show you the size/ratio that you want...and it allows you to move/drag/resize the image layer around on the new canvas. The image isn't 'cropped' in the traditional sense, but whatever falls outside of the new canvas space, will be cropped when flatten and save the image.

Just curious Mike....Once you drag the image on to the new canvas/document, how do you resize the image to fit within the new document? I did this last night....successfully created the new canvas, dragged my orginal image on to it, but when it copied over, about 1/8th of my image showed, as the rest of it was too blown up to fit on to the new canvas and I couldn't figure out how to shrink the copied image down enough to fit exactly on top off the newly created canvas....make any sense?

Bitter Jeweler · Mar 17, 2011

Your new canvas has to be the same resolution as your image, which you can set when you create the new document.

Example, I hope I have this right...
* if your pixel count is based on your image*
If you create a new document at 150 resolution, and your image is at 300...your actual image is twice as large as your new canvas.
If you create a new document that is 300 resolution and your image is at 150, your image is now half the size of your new canvas.

If creating a new document defaults to 75 resolution, and your image is 300....Your image is ****ing huge!

allthingsapple · Mar 17, 2011

Bitter Jeweler said:
Your new canvas has to be the same resolution as your image, which you can set when you create the new document.

Example, I hope I have this right...
* if your pixel count is based on your image*
If you create a new document at 150 resolution, and your image is at 300...your actual image is twice as large as your new canvas.
If you create a new document that is 300 resolution and your image is at 150, your image is now half the size of your new canvas.

If creating a new document defaults to 75 resolution, and your image is 300....Your image is ****ing huge!

Ahh, this makes sense! I bet that's what I did wrong (who me? do something wrong??!!)....Will experiement when I get home tonight.......thanks for the input!