Printing w/o Losing Image Portions

redleash

I've looked through old posts and at the FAQ and I'm still struggling with how and whether to re-size my original images and/or to crop them. Sometimes, my images contain subjects or details that I want to include but they go to the edges of the original image. What is the best way for me to print those images to enable matting and framing?

Here's a specific example. I want to have this in a 16x20 print but without losing too much of the edges, especially on the left. (Maybe it won't lose as much as I think it will?)


1. Should I add a border (in PS) to the image and then cover up the border with a mat, thus allowing the full image to be viewed? If so, how do I calculate the border size to add in PS so it corresponds to a standard mat depth?

2. In some cases, I know it is possible to extend the background by doing some cloning. Does anyone have a good process for doing that? Do you simply clone small sections at a time? It wouldn't work in this example b/c of the detail.

3. I know it sometimes helps to choose the "No Crop" version in the shopping cart. What size is the print? Do the white borders extend the paper size, so that the actual image is what was ordered (e.g., 8X10)? Or is the paper size 8X10, in which case the final image would need to be custom matted after cutting off the white borders?

4. Do the aspect ratio and resolution affect this issue?

I don't always want to custom mat my work and customers don't either. I sometimes want to be able to print my photos to fit into standard mats, but I'm having a devil of a time working out the math! :scratch

I'm sure this is intuitively obvious to most, but I bet there are some other Smuggers who could use this info.

Much Appreciated!!
Lauren

Art Scott

redleash wrote:

I've looked through old posts and at the FAQ and I'm still struggling with how and whether to re-size my original images and/or to crop them. Sometimes, my images contain subjects or details that I want to include but they go to the edges of the original image. What is the best way for me to print those images to enable matting and framing?

Here's a specific example. I want to have this in a 16x20 print but without losing too much of the edges, especially on the left. (Maybe it won't lose as much as I think it will?)
to see what will be cropped....in PS just set the crop tool to the desired size (16X20) and position it around the photo to see what your gonna approx. lose


1. Should I add a border (in PS) to the image and then cover up the border with a mat, thus allowing the full image to be viewed? If so, how do I calculate the border size to add in PS so it corresponds to a standard mat depth?
if you do this you need to make it to the next paper size of the printing lab...or just ask to have it printed dead center of the next largest paper size.
It is gonna cost either way

2. In some cases, I know it is possible to extend the background by doing some cloning. Does anyone have a good process for doing that? Do you simply clone small sections at a time? It wouldn't work in this example b/c of the detail.

I would do as I said above.

3. I know it sometimes helps to choose the "No Crop" version in the shopping cart. What size is the print? Do the white borders extend the paper size, so that the actual image is what was ordered (e.g., 8X10)? Or is the paper size 8X10, in which case the final image would need to be custom matted after cutting off the white borders?

Here in lies the prob. unless you are shooting in the 4x5 aspect ration you cannot get the so called standard prints of which only a few are in the 4x5 (4x5, 8x19,16x20, 32x40) aspect ratio.....you have those that are 4x6 (2x3, 8x12).....so what i have done is decide how i want to market my photos and now i am limiting my sizes to those of the 4x5 aspect ratio...no 4x6, 5x7, 11x14 etc....I may be cutting out a little in sales but atleast I can still walk into Michaels or hObby Lobby and get standard mats if i do not want to customize the mats.

4. Do the aspect ratio and resolution affect this issue?
aspect ratio as stated above...yes not resolution


I don't always want to custom mat my work and customers don't either. I sometimes want to be able to print my photos to fit into standard mats, but I'm having a devil of a time working out the math!
just decide which of the standard sizes you really want to work with and crop into that aspect ratio in PS


I'm sure this is intuitively obvious to most, but I bet there are some other Smuggers who could use this info.

it took a while especially coming from 35mm and2 1/4 film.....but I instinctively cropped in both formats to fit 4x5 and 8x10....well not so much instinctively as i had crop lines in my viewfinder.

Much Appreciated!!
Lauren

remarks above in bold

cabbey

Art covered most of what I'd say, but here are a few additional comments that come to mind:

redleash wrote:

2. In some cases, I know it is possible to extend the background by doing some cloning. Does anyone have a good process for doing that? Do you simply clone small sections at a time? It wouldn't work in this example b/c of the detail.

You might be surprised how much it would work, even in a busy shot like this. The exact approach varies based on the image content. For this shot, I'd probably "grow" it at the top, there's three different techniques that I'd use, the buildings, the sky, and the trees. Each would be done a little differently.

But honestly, with this shot, I'd do one of two things:

1. print it at 16x24 instead of 16x20. It's almost trivial to find framing options at that dimension on the internet. (cheaper too)

2. crop off the entire right hand side. Or pretty close to it really, I'd probably actually take one star off the left so I could get another string of lights in on the right. About like this:

3. I know it sometimes helps to choose the "No Crop" version in the shopping cart. What size is the print? Do the white borders extend the paper size, so that the actual image is what was ordered (e.g., 8X10)? Or is the paper size 8X10, in which case the final image would need to be custom matted after cutting off the white borders?

No Crop adds white borders to 2 sides of your image to make it fit on the paper size you select. So an 8x10 no-crop print of this image would add 9/16" white top and bottom like so:
.

Your final image size would be 6 2/3" x 10" if I've done my quick math correctly.

This almost always guarantees you're going to need a custom matte if you want to go that route.

redleash

Thanks to you both, Art and Cabbey!! Lots of very helpful information and I appreciate both the explanations and the tips. I can definitely work from here now.

I think I will try the 16x24 route, although Cabbey's 16x20 crop looks quite nice indeed. Either way, I think it will turn out nicely.

Cheers,
Lauren