Lets say you sell an uncropped photo digital file you made using a Nikon D5200 that has pixel dimensions (image resolution) of 6000 x 4000 pixels.
You set the
print resolution value, the PPI of the photo, to 300.
Your customer wants to get an 8 x 12 print made of that 6000 x 400 pixel photo.
Here is the math: 6000 pixels divided by 12 inches = 500 pixles per inch - NOT 300 PPI
So the print lab,
or your customer, is going to have to change the 300 PPI to 500 PPI to make the print an 8x12.
Note that 6000 px / 300 ppi = 20 inches
for stylistic reasons, I crop many of my images...is there anything I need to be careful about when doing so (adjusting settings, etc?)?
Absolutely! If a client wants to make prints.
And note that if you're not knowledgeable about this stuff about PPI and print resolution, don't expect the average retail customer to understand it either.
That same customer wants an 8x10 of that 6000 x 4000 px photo because 8x10 frames are more readily available.
8x10 is a 5:4 aspect ratio, almost a square. 6000 x 4000 pixels is a 3:2 aspect ratio a distinct rectangle.
The 6000 x 4000 pixel photo will have to be cropped to 5000 x 4000 pixels to be printed as an 8x10.
Here is the math for that: 3:2 aspect ratio - 3 /2, or 12 / 8 , or 6000 / 4000 = 1.5
5 / 4, or 5000 x 4000, or 10 / 8 = 1.25
Put another way the long side of the photo is 1.5x longer than the short side.
10 / 8 (or 5000/ 4000) = 1.25
S0, 4000 px times 1.25 = 5000 pixels
The long side of an 8x10 is only 1.25 times longer than the short side which is why some has to be cropped away from the long side of any 3:2 aspect ratio photo to be printed as a 5:4 aspect ratio print.
