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saving images for enlarging
nicnelly
Registered Users Posts: 34 Big grins
Can someone advise me on the best size to use when copying pictures onto a disc to be enlarged. I am shooting with a Canon D20 and usually shoot in RAW and save the images as size 12 JPEGs in PS Elements. I'm not sure how to know how big they can be enlarged without losing image quality. Is there a better way to save? thank you!!
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If you're shooting in RAW, you should be using the RAW versions for enlarging. The JPEG versions have already discarded detail data that could be useful during the enlarging process. Don't worry about the file size. If you care about the image quality, the disk space is worth it.
There are no absolute rules to determine how much you can enlarge an image. It depends on a number of factors; the image, the tool used to enlarge it, personal taste, and the output method. The one absolute is that you WILL lose resolution as the image size increases.
How much loss you will have depends largely on the software used to do the enlarging. How much loss you can get away with before it becomes obvious depends, to a large extent, on the output method; monitor, home print, professional print, etc. How much you can tolerate is up to you. The only way to know is to experiment.
Probably not the answer you were hoping for, but it's just one of those things. Some images can't be enlarged more than 150-200%, some can go to 300%. It's unlikely you'd be happy with anything bigger, but it's possible. That's why you need to experiment.