What order?

Tom Vervaeke · January 20, 2004

I need expert help here: I use Photoshop Element 2.0 and have a process question.

My source material is either 3.2MP, 4.0MP or 6MP from my digital SLR. If I'm using the D100 I sometimes shoot in RAW (NEF) and sometimes (well, mostly) in Large, Fine JPEG's. I process the RAW images into TIFF's with Capture One LE SW. Love it.

Once I get the image into PS I often manipulate it and then print. Prior to printing I often make the image larger or small in preparation for printing. I can print as big as 13x19" (Canon 9100) or as small as 4x6".

Question:

1. Is is best to alter the SIZE of the image prior to sharpening and other adjustments or after?

2. Does it make any difference at all?

I'm just learning about layers and all of that so for the most part i'm just telling PS Element to do the "Quick Fix" and then adjust the colors, sharpness, and brightness.

My wife is very creative and purchases decent frames locally and ready made matts. She tells me what size actual photo to print (4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, etc..) and I print them out. I've actually begun to sell a few photos here and there nowadays.

Would be great to settle my digital workflow out by learning whether I should size first or last.

Thanks,

Tom

cletus · January 21, 2004

Tom,

It's going to depend on how you're altering the size of the image. At least in the full verion of Photoshop (I don't have Elements) you have two basic choices when changing the image size. The first method simply changes the printed size of the image, but leaves the pixels of the image alone. The second method actually changes the number of pixels in the image (for example going from 3000x2000 pixels to 1500x1000 pixels).

If you're using the first type of size adjustment, it doesn't mater if you change the size before or after you apply sharpening and make other adjustments. However, if you are using the second method, I think you would want to make your adjustments before you change the image size. And yes, I think it would make a difference.

-Eric

wxwax · January 22, 2004

Scott Kelby's book recommends making Sharpening the very last thing you do to your photo. Personally, I'd crop first, then size it, then make my adjustments. I'd worry that changing the size might throw-off my changes.

Read Shay's brilliant two-part explanation of print size and pixels per inch here.

zero-zero · January 22, 2004

Crop to desired composition (not size)first. Next, white point and black point, then color correction. Once you're done with retouching, reduce to final size, then sharpen. Sharpening gets lost or muted during resizing, and redoing it just increases noise. besides, the correct amount of sharpening is different for different uses - what's perfect for offset printing will look crusty and over the top on a Fuji Frontier.

Sharpening goes last, always.

cmr164 · January 22, 2004

zero-zero wrote:

Crop to desired composition (not size)first. Next, white point and black point, then color correction. Once you're done with retouching, reduce to final size, then sharpen. Sharpening gets lost or muted during resizing, and redoing it just increases noise. besides, the correct amount of sharpening is different for different uses - what's perfect for offset printing will look crusty and over the top on a Fuji Frontier.

Sharpening goes last, always.

"...reduce to final size" .... But if the size change is to increase, wouldn't you want to do that before all of the rest.

zero-zero · January 23, 2004

Not really. I said "reduce" because maybe 90% of my images need to lose pixels before layout / printing, but if you're going to interpolate, I'd still do the basics @ the original size, then interpolate, then sharpen. No need to slow down your cpu doing editing at, say, 100 MB, if your original is only 30, plus sharpening is size-, content- and purpose-dependent, so it's best done at final size.

Roberto.

What order?

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