Print sizing - am I being stupid?

[fess67]

Hi,

I have searched the forum and cannot find a solution to my problem. Hopefully you can help me solve my problem.

Situation: Photo taken with Canon 5D2, 24-105L at 50mm. This produces a RAW image that is 5616 x 3744 pix or 23.4 x 15.6 inches.

Problem: I want to produce a 10x8 print but no matter how I try I cannot get the image I want (the child and toys). It simply will not fit them in on the long axis.

I have come across this several times recently and it is frustrating me, surely there is a way to fit this onto a 10x8?

Files attached: Original pic (reduced for web but not cropped) and screenshot of what a 10x8 landscape crop gives me.

All advice appreciated.

[gcflora]

Hmm. The way I do it in photoshop (much easier with Lightroom!) is to crop to my longest edge first and along the edge I want to keep. I then go to Image/Canvas size and multiply the longest edge x 0.8 (8/10) to get the length of my shortest edge and poke that into the field for the shorter edge. Then resize if necessary. Maybe there's an easier way though

[jjnic]

Why 10x8? 12x8 is standard too. I had a print done yesterday at 12x8 cause i had the same problem with 10x8 cropping out the edges.

jj

[IanB]

Welcome to photographer and photos ratios which has been the bug bear for many many years.

from this image you can not make a 8 x 10 [1.25 to 1] photo; you need to make it an 8 x 12 or 6 x 9 [1.33 to 1 ratio]

most printed photos will receive some cropping from the original file. Best tip is to photography everything reasonable loosely [leave some space around the subject] and do the final crop with puter.

hope that helps

[gcflora]

Welcome to photographer and photos ratios which has been the bug bear for many many years.

from this image you can not make a 8 x 10 [1.25 to 1] photo; you need to make it an 8 x 12 or 6 x 9 [1.33 to 1 ratio]

most printed photos will receive some cropping from the original file. Best tip is to photography everything reasonable loosely [leave some space around the subject] and do the final crop with puter.

hope that helps

I don't understand why you can not make an 8 x 10? You just need to crop it to the right ratio??? I'd attach a cropped version at 10 x 8 but I dunno if fess has given permission

[IanB]

I don't understand why you can not make an 8 x 10? You just need to crop it to the right ratio??? I'd attach a cropped version at 10 x 8 but I dunno if fess has given permission

Yes; but it will look wacko with far tooooooo much empty space at the top. I'll do a few demos later.

[kiwi]

I think you are all missing the point here

You can get a 8x10 crop by using 4x5, 8x10, 16x20 etc, it's all the same ratio

You just need to extend the crop square and move it around using the crop tool you have

There is enough space in the photo here to get a very good 8x10 crop.

It's where you have taken a photo wiith very little space around the subjects that you can get into trouble with cropping

[kiwi]

Ian, yes, there is a bit of space at the top

[gcflora]

The space is in the original as well

Kiwi: Your ratio explanation is what I was trying to say

[campo]

photoshop CS4 has a tool (name escapes me now) that can do smart transforms that only stretch/compress parts of the image so you can potentially change from one ratio to another without cropping...

i've not used it yet, just read about it in a scott kelby book

[IanB]

The real problem with this photo happened when it's taken and there was not enough space left at the bottom

[gcflora]

And another 10x8 crop

[kiwi]

Yeah Craig, that's the crop I came up with too, looks good to me.

[JM Tran]

Dont know why people print to 8x10 format these days, since DSLRs shoot to a standard default 3:2 ratio meaning its a straight 8x12 inch print, 30x20 inch, 45x30 inch etc and no cropping needed when printing. I hate having to crop and lose details etc when I print for myself and clients

[fess67]

Welcome to photographer and photos ratios which has been the bug bear for many many years.

from this image you can not make a 8 x 10 [1.25 to 1] photo; you need to make it an 8 x 12 or 6 x 9 [1.33 to 1 ratio]

most printed photos will receive some cropping from the original file. Best tip is to photography everything reasonable loosely [leave some space around the subject] and do the final crop with puter.

hope that helps

Yep my bad for getting in too close / getting the original framing wrong, good advice to leave room to crop.

And another 10x8 crop

ok ok, now you have to tell me how you got it

Dont know why people print to 8x10 format these days, ......

ummm because my client (friend not fee paying) has a 10x8 frame and wants to put it into that.

[MarkChap]

Dont know why people print to 8x10 format these days, since DSLRs shoot to a standard default 3:2 ratio meaning its a straight 8x12 inch print, 30x20 inch, 45x30 inch etc and no cropping needed when printing. I hate having to crop and lose details etc when I print for myself and clients

Simple answer

Off the shelf frames, try and buy an off the shelf frame for a 12x8

[I @ M]

Fess, when you have worked out the sizes / ratios from the advice given here there is one other point to remember and that is to allow enough "edge" on the final print to go inside a frame or mat within a frame as many frames and mats will cover some of the print edge.

Dont know why people print to 8x10 format these days,

8x10 frames and cropping seem to exist today due to the 4:5 ratio being a "traditional" aspect for portraits falling into line with large format camera film. The head and chest view of a subject was always considered to "look better" with a slightly wider aspect to it than the native 2:3 ratio of 35mm film ( and now digital) SLRs.

8x10 cropping on a horizontal format never seems to look quite right to me except for when cropping to frame things like birds to get them less central in a composition. The 4:5 ratio is also available as an "in camera" crop in the Nikon D3 to allow framing in that ratio.