What Ratio Size Do You Upload Your Pics With?

gina4xoxoxo

Wondering what size or ratio you upload your pics in? If I do 2:3, which is perfect size for a 4x6, then obviously when one wants a 5x7 or 8x10, they will have to crop. But if you post 4:5 ratio for perfect 8x10, then if one wants a 4x6, they're missing out on a lot of the pic because of that crop.
Do you assume the 2:3 ratio, that most people will order that size, and just let the little be cropped if they order an 8x10 or 5x7, etc.?
Or is there a specific set size required by SmugMug to upload in to avoid this confusion and allow for the most versatility for different size ordering of prints?
Hope I asked that correctly and you understand what I am asking.

thanks!!

jfriend

I upload at 2:3 which is my camera's native aspect ratio.

You can see what the ratios of the common sizes are:

4x6 = 0.66
5x7 = 0.71
8x10 = 0.80
8x12 = 0.66
11x14 = 0.79
12x18 = 0.66

If you want to allow 8x10 or 16x20 or 11x14, then you just have to leave extra room on the long edge so it can be cropped down to the 8x10 aspect ratio. I use proof delay so I can check the cropping my buyers use and sometimes have to prepare a special version of the image for an 8x10 order.

5x7 only requires a little cropping - not near as much as 8x10 so it usually isn't a problem.

Andy

Leave at native aspect ratio, customers (or you) can crop the orders and you can review the crops before orders go to the lab:


http://wiki.smugmug.net/display/SmugMug/Proof+Delay

gina4xoxoxo

picture resolution/size uploading for prints?
what ppi do you use to upload your pics and what size? is there a set size you recommend so people can get the most variety from the prints? i mean should i upload the biggest file i have as long as i put it in, say, 2:3 ratio? does it matter if we upload in 300 dpi and a size or just a specific size in pixels like 2400x3000, etc.? what is the biggest recommended size to upload?

jfriend

gina4xoxoxo wrote:

what ppi do you use to upload your pics and what size? is there a set size you recommend so people can get the most variety from the prints? i mean should i upload the biggest file i have as long as i put it in, say, 2:3 ratio? does it matter if we upload in 300 dpi and a size or just a specific size in pixels like 2400x3000, etc.? what is the biggest recommended size to upload?

It would have been better if you added this question about dpi onto your previous thread since it's all related to the same subject. That would have the added benefit of bring the new question to the attention of those who have already helped you too.

To answer this question about dpi, you should NOT convert your image to any particular dpi or try to assign it a particular size. Both of those operations can cause your image pixels to get resampled (scaled up or down) which degrades the image.

You should crop the image as desired while maintaining the original aspect ratio (unless you want to change the aspect ratio for artistic reasons) and then upload the full resolution pixel image with no pixel resampling.

Smugmug and it's printers only care about how many pixels you have (not a labeled size or a dpi). When someone orders prints, the person ordering the prints specifies the size print they want and the printer then scales your image appropriately to produce that size image on their printer. You do not have to do that and it works better if you give the printer your best and highest resolution original without any scaling on your part.

gina4xoxoxo

jfriend wrote:

Smugmug and it's printers only care about how many pixels you have (not a labeled size or a dpi). When someone orders prints, the person ordering the prints specifies the size print they want and the printer then scales your image appropriately to produce that size image on their printer. You do not have to do that and it works better if you give the printer your best and highest resolution original without any scaling on your part.

so just crop to 2:3 ratio and don't do anything with size? The reason i ask is because i edit out of LR into CS3. When you go to edit, it asks you what dpi you want to use. i usually pick 300 knowing it will give me the biggest size printable at that resolution. So what should i put there? Should I put 240 maybe? i mean they can't print smaller than that and i'm sure they are not resampling, so...
Is this correct?

jfriend

gina4xoxoxo wrote:

so just crop to 2:3 ratio and don't do anything with size? The reason i ask is because i edit out of LR into CS3. When you go to edit, it asks you what dpi you want to use. i usually pick 300 knowing it will give me the biggest size printable at that resolution. So what should i put there? Should I put 240 maybe? i mean they can't print smaller than that and i'm sure they are not resampling, so...
Is this correct?

Please describe the exact steps you follow going from LR to CS3. When I have an edited RAW file in LR2 and I say to Edit In > Photoshop CS3, I get prompted twice (once in LR about ACR support in CS3 where I choose to render the file in LR and then again in Photoshop where it asks me if ProPhotoRGB is OK), but I never see anything about a dpi setting. I can't really answer your question without knowing how you trigger that question.