Resolution & photoshop help please ;)

Sarah74 · Dec 3, 2006

Hello, my questions regard photoshop cs and image resolution. I am starting out in wedding photography and am offering my client a cd with all their images at high res.

Problem is I am not sure if I should supply my client with all their images at the raw size of my images which is 350 ppi or the non raw ones (I shot a combo) which are 72 ppi, or if I should convert these all to 300 ppi so that they may print them from home or send them out or take to a booth.

The problem with making them 300 is I feel they seem to be much smaller print size. Should i not constrain, should I resample, I am at a total loss. And I have no idea how to put so many images on one cd as well. I asked other photographers who said they put 2-300 300 ppi on one cd (but to me that seems impossible).

Also, does anyone recommend a way to batch convert a file of images at once to a different resolution. I use Photoshop cs and Photoshop elements.

Confused? help? Please, cheers, Sarah

Peanuts · Dec 3, 2006

Sarah74 said:
Also, does anyone recommend a way to batch convert a file of images at once to a different resolution. I use Photoshop cs and Photoshop elements.

What you will want to do is create an "action" and then run a them as a 'batch' through this action. You can create and action by pulling up that toolbar (Alt + F9 on CS2) and pressing the red circle (record) then go to Image --> Image Size and the information you want there. I would personally do one all for vertical images (just chaning the height) and one for horizontal images (the width). Then you press stop. Open all of the vertical images, go to File --> Automate --> Batch and select the action you just made. That is the easiest way IMO.

For your CD, I would highly recommend not giving the customer the RAW files. Chances have it they dont' have the program to process them, and if they were to have them printed as RAWs, they would probably be charged a hefty fee to convert each file to JPEG/TIFF. That being said though, I have no idea why they are coming out as 72dpi.

JIP · Dec 3, 2006

Whatever you do if part of the deal was to give them printable files you should give them the highest resoulution files possible or if they come up with bad prints I'm sure they will think bad photographer. If they will not fit on one CD that way I would just put them on 2 or however many it takes you should not compromise your image resoulution.

Sarah74 · Dec 3, 2006

Thank you for the advice, I probably worded it a bit wrong. I converted the raws to jpgs and they read as image size 350 for resolution. The ones I shot non raw as jpgs are 72 resolution. I don't need to make any particular print size, but need to figure out if and when I resize them so that they may easily print them, if I do so at 300 resolution or ppi do I constrain and resample or not resample? Thank you again, Sarah

Peanuts · Dec 3, 2006

The higher it is the better

Sarah74 · Dec 3, 2006

Hi Jip, I do want to give them the best files I can, I am just confused as to how to do so. I have a BFA in photography, but they never taught us anything important unfortunately

. Thank you, and any advice you could offer me, or if you are experienced in wedding photography and such I would be happy to pay you a small fee for you knowledge regarding this. Cheers, sarah

Tiberius · Dec 3, 2006

If you're talking the dpi resolution in the files, that doesn't matter at all. Ignore it.

texassand · Dec 6, 2006

How does that not matter? now i'm really confused. i'm glad this was posted because I have the same questions. I do not shoot in RAW because I don't understand it. I shoot on the highest/largest jpeg setting that my camera allows and it to shows 72 dpi on my pictures. What size prints will this make? Also, HOW do I "upsize" the resolution to be 300 dpi. I have photoshop Elements.

Digital Matt · Dec 6, 2006

Print size is determined by the DPI of the printer. The PPI setting in the file is irrelavent until it's time to print, and you can then change it to whatever you want, assuming you have enough pixel resolution. The resolution of the final print is determined by the pixel resolution, X pixels by Y pixels, divided by the ppi (pixels per inch).

2400 / 300 = 8 inches

3000/ 300 = 10 inches

Therefore an 8x10" print at 300 DPI would need a file of 2400x3000 pixels.

texassand · Dec 6, 2006

Ok - trying to understand. So would it be correct to say then that an 8x10" print at 72 DPI would need a file size of only 576x720 pixels?

Digital Matt · Dec 6, 2006

That is correct. If your photo is 2400x3000 and the DPI is at 72, all you need to do is change the dpi by unchecking the "resample" button, and change it to 300. It will then print those 2400 x 3000 pixels at 300 dpi and give you an 8x10" print.

The_Traveler · Dec 11, 2006

Ok - trying to understand. So would it be correct to say then that an 8x10" print at 72 DPI would need a file size of only 576x720 pixels?

Clear your mind of the 72 pixel print idea. Prints made at 72 DPI are horrible. Ignore that issue in image size until you are more comfortable with printing from PS.

I assume you are cropping the pictures to a format that will allow the customer to print a standard print. The standard aspect ratio of many/most D/SLRs is 4 x 6. This is ok for little prints but looks generally ugly in larger pictures in a portrait format.

When I give people images to print themselves, I correct them in Photoshop as much as I can, then crop them to 4 x 5 aspect with the cropping tool [Important - clear the resolution block - this will allow you to crop any of the picture without resampling]]; this will allow them to print them at 4x5, 8x10 and 11 x 14. (I leave enough space in the composition on the dimensions to allow for the overlap of the mat and for the tiny difference in aspect ratio between 8x10 and 11x14.)

If you have used layers in the editing, flatten the prints to a single layer. Since most non-custom printers (Walmart, etc) will use the sRGB color profile, convert the image to sRGB. (Edit>convert to profile and make the destination space sRGB). Now save as ****.jpg; this imbeds the color profile in the jpg and allows the printer to make color corrections. You have the opportunity to rename the file at this point. Since many images at weddings look similar, incorporate your filename in the new name if you change it. This will allow you to find your original if the client comes back to you. For example, if your filename is '01-22-07_134', the new name should be someing like 'All_family_01-22-07_134.' Make certain to keep an uncorrected original

Always give people image files in the largest possible size JPG (in pixels) that you can. The printer will automatically resize down. You probably won't need to save as the absolute maximum quality; I use 10 on the scale of 12) (this is an option is the Save as menu series after you enter the Save As name).

I don't understand the problems with getting a bunch of jpgs on a CD. A 3000 x 2000 jpg from my camera is 2.25 at maximum quality. After editing and saving at the compression [quality] setting I suggest (10 out of 12), the files are from 700-850k depending on the image.

Even at the maximum size, about 280 images will fit on a typical 650 M CD. If your files are larger than 2.5 megs, something is wrong.