lightroom 3 resizing

madmoose

Hi, need serious help! i am trying to resize for export. namely to fit 11x14 @ 300dpi (3300x4200).
my issues being when i go to resize on the export page and i enter 11x14 it saves it as 2800x4200
when i try typing in my pixel size also, it does the same ratio
when i type in the short end. (3300) it then makes my long end 4900
i cant crop to 11x14 in lightroom because i loose some of my picture that i dont want to loose..
please tell me im missing something easy.
what im trying to accomplish, is getting my picture to fit an 11x14 print that i can have run off at costco.
thanks for your time and help,
Jon

digismile

Any crop ratio that you use that doesn't match your native image ratio, you will lose some of your image. That's why it's called crop and not re-size.

In the case of a standard 2/3 image, you are going to lose some image on the long side when you crop to 11 x 14. The only way to print this 11 x 14 and not lose anything is to "add" a band of white or black on the long edge. Is this what you want?

To do this, you need to take each image into Photoshop and re-size the canvas to 11 x 14. You can then re-size the overall image to your desired dpi.

I do not know how to do this in LR. You can create a custom paper size, but I don't know if you have any control over the resolution. You would then have to output the image to pdf to be able to take it to a printer. I don't know if they can handle a non-jpg file. It's not something I do everyday.

madmoose

wow..i really didnt think it would be an issue to size a pic to 11x14, without loss..
because what i want in the pic is in the bottom of the frame, i could make an adjustment on the long edge (4200) and let the top go to 2800 like it wants to do so then my image would be cropped side to side which if i had to sacrifice something it would be that..
i dont have any photoshop software.
cant imagine there not being an easier way. but maybe not

basflt

while in crop mode
look at right side of screen
left of the lock is a text [ original with 2 arrows ^v ]
click it , select custom
click again select , enter custom
in the box , type 11 and 14 , OK
drag the image around for positioning
click done

now you can export to 3300x4200 at 300 PPI

[ i just tried it and it works ]

madmoose

Thanks Bas!!!!! i will give it a shot after work.

digismile

madmoose wrote: »

wow..i really didnt think it would be an issue to size a pic to 11x14, without loss..
because what i want in the pic is in the bottom of the frame, i could make an adjustment on the long edge (4200) and let the top go to 2800 like it wants to do so then my image would be cropped side to side which if i had to sacrifice something it would be that..
i dont have any photoshop software.
cant imagine there not being an easier way. but maybe not

Jon,

Bas's method is just the normal crop in LR. But as stated before, you WILL LOSE some of your photo. As Bas correctly pointed out, LR lets you position the photo to decide what part of the photo is lost (it can all be off one side, for example). What's great about the LR crop tool, is that it is non-destructive. You can go back and change the crop at any time.

Your other option to cropping is to pick a print size that matches your image size. For example, if you have a camera with a 2/3 ratio sensor, you could print 8 x 12 or 12 x 18 with zero loss to your photo. If your sensor is 4/5 ratio, you could print 16 x 20. Otherwise, you will have to choose to crop some of your image away if you are set on an 11 x 14 print size. Sorry, no magic way to change the height/width ratio and not drop some data ...

Hope this makes sense,

madmoose

so Digi, i would have a 2:3 sensor.. so no hope on the loss in a 11x14..do full frame sensors have a diff. ration that would let a person have a 11x14 without loss?

digismile

madmoose wrote: »

so Digi, i would have a 2:3 sensor.. so no hope on the loss in a 11x14..do full frame sensors have a diff. ration that would let a person have a 11x14 without loss?

No, full frame sensors are also 2 x 3. 11 x 14 is unfortunately a non-standard size. Are you wanting to mount this photo or possibly frame it? What if we added a border that would be the same as the frame or matting? I could help with that.

Why not use a different size?

SlowWalkere

digismile wrote: »

In the case of a standard 2/3 image, you are going to lose some image on the long side when you crop to 11 x 14. The only way to print this 11 x 14 and not lose anything is to "add" a band of white or black on the long edge. Is this what you want?

To do this, you need to take each image into Photoshop and re-size the canvas to 11 x 14. You can then re-size the overall image to your desired dpi.

I do not know how to do this in LR. You can create a custom paper size, but I don't know if you have any control over the resolution. You would then have to output the image to pdf to be able to take it to a printer. I don't know if they can handle a non-jpg file. It's not something I do everyday.

If you use the Lightroom Print Module, you can get a jpeg file with a custom border at the appropriate size / resolution.

1. Open the print module. Make sure you select "Single Image / Contact Sheet" up top.
2. Scroll down to "Print Job," click on the "Print to:" option and select "JPEG File."
3. Look down in the "Print Job" box, and check off "Custom File Dimensions," and set these to the desired settings (11 in. x 14 in. in this case). You can also set the resolution here to 300.
4. Scroll back up to "Layout." Set each of the margins to zero. Make sure Rows and Columns under Page Grid are both set to 1. Set the cell size to the maximum (11 in. and 14 in.).
5. Click on "Print to File..." and choose a file name.

You should now have an image that is centered on the canvas and has a solid border on the sides. This is probably white (normal paper color), but go to the "Page" section of the toolbar, you can check off "Page Background Color" and select any color you want.

You can also play with the margins / cell size if you want to have a thinner border around the whole image.

On a side note, a piece of advice for the future: leave some room around the edges when you frame your shot in camera. If you take a shot and your subject completely fills the frame, you'll never be able to use the image in any aspect ratio but 2:3 (a standard 4 x 6 photo print) without cropping part of it out.

If you leave some space around the edges, you can happily crop it to a wider aspect ratio (8 x 10 or 11 x 14) without cutting out your subject. And, if you stick with a normal 4 x 6 aspect ratio, you can crop the image down to eliminate that extra space above/below your subject.

- Brian