Quick Photopass Question!

[JoMarie]

So, the expiration date for my Photopass photos in next Monday. (We've been home for a month already? ) And I'm getting ready to put in the order for my book and CD (We preordered). I read somewhere that you have to change the photos from 5x7 to 4x6. Is this true if I plan on taking the CD to Costco and just having them print out the photos for me?

I started to resize some of them, but realized how long that's going to take. So I just wanted to make sure before I finished.

TIA!

[kathyell]

The short answer is, if the pictures have a border applied to them, you have to save them in the dimension(s) you plan to print the pictures in. If you apply a border to a photo you only want to print in 4x6, save it as 4x6. If you want a 5x7, you must save it in 5x7 as well. If you want an 8x10, you must save it in 8x10 as well. If you don't do this for the pics you apply borders to, when the photo processing place crops your pictures to get them to fit into the appropriate size, you will lose parts of the borders.

If you have not applied a border to the photos, you can leave it in 5x7 and then either re-crop them yourself later for 4x6 or let the photo processing place do it.

[WillCAD]

The important thing in photo printing is not the size in inches, it's the ratio of length-to-height. You can print a pic to any size that has the same length-to-height ratio as the original image, and it won't be cut off. But if you print an image to a size that has a different length-to-height ratio than the original image, the pic will be cut off - or "cropped", as photographers and printers call it - and you'll lose the outer edges of your pic.

Unaltered PhotoPass pics have a length-to-height ratio of 2:3 (they are 2000x3000 pixels).

A 4"x6" print also has a ratio of 2:3. So does an 8"x12" print. Since this is the same ratio as the original PhotoPass images, you can print your pics to 4x6 or 8x12 without cropping, or cutting off, any of the image.

A 5"x7" print has a ratio of 2.5:3.5. Since this is different than the original PhotoPass image, if you save, or print, a PhotoPass image at 5"x7", the long edges of the image will get cut off.

An 8"x10" print has a ratio of 4:5. Since this is different than the original PhotoPass image, if you save, or print, a PhotoPass image at 8"x10", the long edges of the image will get cut off.

Basically, you need to decide what size you will print the pics BEFORE you add borders to them and save copies. Many people who are getting the PhotoCD save one copy of each pic at 4X6 and one copy at 5x7 so they'll have the option or printing at either size.

The following web page has a nice graphic that illustrates the difference in ratios:
Image ratios on About.com

[vicki_c]

WillCAD - excellent explanation.

I have one question though - I thought the default sizes of the photos on the PP site were 5x7, not 4x6? I haven't done one since June though, so maybe I'm not remembering correctly. But I print many more photos as 4x6s (and therefore recall saving copies as 4x6s for the edited prints) and I did have borders cut off on those on some of my earlier Photopass efforts before I understood the size changing thing.

[Alesia]

Originally Posted by vicki_c

WillCAD - excellent explanation.

I have one question though - I thought the default sizes of the photos on the PP site were 5x7, not 4x6? I haven't done one since June though, so maybe I'm not remembering correctly. But I print many more photos as 4x6s (and therefore recall saving copies as 4x6s for the edited prints) and I did have borders cut off on those on some of my earlier Photopass efforts before I understood the size changing thing.

The default size of the pictures is 4x6. For some reason, when you edit them and save them, they default to 5x7. Don't ask me why...

[WillCAD]

Originally Posted by Alesia

The default size of the pictures is 4x6. For some reason, when you edit them and save them, they default to 5x7. Don't ask me why...

Just a guess, but:

I think a 5x7 is the most popular print size ordered from the PhotoPass web site, so the system is set up to go to 5x7 whenever a copy is created with a border. That way, when the customer orders a 5x7 print, they won't be surprised by the parts that get cropped off the original image.

[JoMarie]

Thanks everyone. I guess I should start resizing everything, shouldn't I?