It is essential to get the best results from your pictures when they are projected through the club projector, and so before submitting your images for a competition they need to be resized to match the projector’s resolution which is 1024 x 768 pixels.
Resizing should be done once you have finished any alterations, adjustments and cropping and sharpening* and it is best then to use “Save As” to save resized pictures to a separate folder rather than saving over the original picture.
*Sharpening can, if preferred, be applied after resizing has been completed; this is a matter of personal preference.
Note : Remember to add your borders BEFORE resizing or the image will be the wrong size!
Note : the file should use the following naming convention 'your name_title.jpg', note the underscore between your name and the image title, it HAS to be there so that the projection software can recognise the name and title of the image.
One of the most common questions that club members have is: how to I resize a photo correctly for an competition digital entry?
Think of it as fitting your resized image into an imaginary box, as shown below:
If you have either Photoshop or Elements, then follow these instructions:
1. Go to the top of the screen and in the Menu bar click on Image then scroll down to Image Size. A pop-up box will appear. The ones we are going to use are Resolution, Height and Width.
2. Click on the drop-down arrow beside the resample method (at the bottom of the box) and select Bicubic Sharper from the list, it's normally preselected.
3. Then in the Resolution box make the numbers 72 pixels/inch, either double clicking on the resolution to highlight it or by backspacing and typing 72. You will see that the width and height have changed.
4. Next, go to the Width and Height boxes. In these enter the values that you need, 1024 wide (for landscape) and 768 high (for portrait) – if the Constrain Proportions box is ticked then you may find that the height will automatically change to a figure less than 768 because the natural ratio of the picture from your camera is 3:2 or 4:3.
5. This can be overcome by un-ticking the Constrain Proportions box and typing in 1024 in the Height box; however this may distort your picture.
6. It is therefore better to leave the Constrain Proportion box ticked and have a slightly reduced height, or crop your picture to a slightly different ratio before resizing.
If you are resizing a portrait format picture remember that the club only accepts a maximum height of 768 pixels, so you must therefore enter 768 in the Height first, leave the Constrain Proportions boxticked and allow the Width to adjust automatically.
Please remember that 1024 and or 768 pixels are maximum figures and must not be exceeded.
Please note that if you alter the Height and Width boxes first then the Resolution box will not change. Then when you alter the Resolution box the Height and Width figures will end up being a lot smaller than you want and you will end up with a postage stamp sized image on the screen.
- Convert your image to sRGB instead of Adobe RGB, if it isn’t already sRGB, as that is what the projector shows best. Most cameras are set to sRGB by default, but your software may not necessarily save pictures in the same format.
8.Any sharpening of your images should take into account that viewing distance will be at least 12 feet. Remember that over-sharpening will result in an obvious pixilated effect when projected.
9.Save your image as a .JPG file at maximum quality, using the following file name format; Your Name_Title.jpg. For example, Keith Hull_My Old Tree.jpg. Remember, use "Save As" so that the the original, full size version of your image is not overwritten.
10.If you are using a program that isn't on the list below, and you are having problems, please let me know about it.
Once your image is resized and named, you can submit it for a competition by burning it onto a CD and handing in, or handing in a flash drive. Remember that they have to be in TWO weeks before the competion due date.
Below are some links to online tutorials on resizing in popular photo editing software.
Photoshop/Elements
Paintshop Pro
Adobe Photoshop Elements (all recent versions) / How to resize in Photoshop Elements 4.0
Adobe Photoshop (all recent versions) / Photoshop resizing video tutorial
Google Picasa (free download) / Picasa tutorial - resize image
FastStone Photo Resizer (free download) / Batch resizing in Photo Resizer
Corel Paint Shop Pro / Resizing with Paint Shop Pro
Adobe Lightroom / Lightroom resizing video tutorial
Apple Aperture / Resizing and cropping in Aperture
Aperture (MAC)
Aperture is around £50 to buy from the Apple store, you might not have this on your Mac.
In Aperture the best solution is to create your own output preset. The steps below show you how, and then how to use the preset you made. You only need to make the output preset the first time you try to resize your images.
When you have made all adjustments and are ready to export a jpg correctly sized within 1024X768 pixels, right click on the image and select Export Version
In the new window that pops up, select the location/folder you want to export to, and then select Edit at the bottom of the Export Preset list.
The Edit Preset window will Open. Click the “+” in the bottom left corner to create a new preset. This will only need to be done the first time you export, after that you will be able to just select it in the drop-down list. Use the following setup.
Rename the preset to something suitable – here it is called Imagez PDI Resize, make sure the Image Format is JPEG, set Image Quality to 12 (maximum), and DPI to 72. In the Size To drop down select Fit Within (Pixels) and set the Width to 1024 and the Height to 768. Make sure the Color Profile is set to sRGB and then click on OK
Now all you have to do is type in the name of the file (don’t forget the correct format if it is for a competition) and click on Export Versions, and Bob’s your Uncle!
From now on, if you want to export images from Aperture as a jpg and within 1024X768 pixels, the preset has been set up, so you only need to select it in the drop down list when exporting!
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Paintshop Pro (PC)
Paint Shop Pro has been around for about 20 years now and is a somewhat cheaper alternative to Photoshop. It has many similar features and functions, although with subtly different naming. The “official” retail price hovers around the £80 mark, although you can obtain it elsewhere for less.
Go to Image then Resize
Depending on the version of Paint Shop Pro you use, the window is subtly different. The versions shown below are for Paint Shop Pro X4
Note the similarities to the Photoshop options. The Width and Height speak for themselves, whereas instead of Constrain Proportions, you have the “Lock aspect ratio” option. As before, under normal circumstances you will only need to change the width, height, and keep the aspect ratio locked.
Make sure you edit the Pixel Dimensions box.