Printing and Sizes - Keeps cutting bits off...

[Steven001]

This might be a silly question, but here goes:

I use Photobox to print all my photos. I have a couple which I want printed (probably A4) so I can frame them and hang them on my wall. When I upload the photo's I can never find a printable size that "fits" the whole image without clicking "shrink to fit", which then leaves me with a massive white border on the top or bottom of the image.

All I want to do is to be able to print the images in the sizes I want; either A4, 10x8 or perhaps larger, without cropping off any of the image.

 

[snappingsam]

ever heard the saying "you can't get a square peg in a round hole"?

If you have a DSLR camera the odds are the shape of photo it takes is 2:3 - that means its 50% longer than it's height - or vice versa.

If you want a 10x8 its 4:5 - so its much more square. A4 is 1:square root of 2 - which is much closer to 2:3

If you want to print the same as your camera you have to choose sizes that are 2:3.... so

4x6
5x7.5
6x9
8x12
10x15
12x18
16x24
20x30
24x36

Then your next problem is finding frames....!

don't forget that some of the image will probably be hidden behind the frame (as otherwise the glass would fall out!) and then a little will be lost during the printing process too....

 

[Steven001]

ever heard the saying "you can't get a square peg in a round hole"?

If you have a DSLR camera the odds are the shape of photo it takes is 2:3 - that means its 50% longer than it's height - or vice versa.

If you want a 10x8 its 4:5 - so its much more square. A4 is 1:square root of 2 - which is much closer to 2:3

If you want to print the same as your camera you have to choose sizes that are 2:3.... so

4x6
5x7.5
6x9
8x12
10x15
12x18
16x24
20x30
24x36

Then your next problem is finding frames....!

don't forget that some of the image will probably be hidden behind the frame (as otherwise the glass would fall out!) and then a little will be lost during the printing process too....

That makes it a lot clearer... Thank you! I was trying to print a picture which I had already copped, and hadn't put much thought into the dimensions when cropping and as such I can't print it the way I like it :bonk:

 

[cdiver2]

ever heard the saying "you can't get a square peg in a round hole"?

If you have a DSLR camera the odds are the shape of photo it takes is 2:3 - that means its 50% longer than it's height - or vice versa.

If you want a 10x8 its 4:5 - so its much more square. A4 is 1:square root of 2 - which is much closer to 2:3

If you want to print the same as your camera you have to choose sizes that are 2:3.... so

4x6
5x7.5
6x9
8x12
10x15
12x18
16x24
20x30
24x36

Then your next problem is finding frames....!

don't forget that some of the image will probably be hidden behind the frame

(as otherwise the glass would fall out!) and then a little will be lost during the printing process too....

You matt the photograph

 

[snapalot]

We get people in all the time who have sent stuff away or have been to Boots, Tesco etc
and ended up with bits missing off, usually tops of heads.

Fortunately for us we can print their pictures with all the detail and also sell them a mount to match that we cut for an oversize frame or make a specific size frame for them.

 

[Quickshooter]

Hey I to have this problem and am struggling to get round it. My camera is Nikon D3100 which apparently has a sensor size of 23.1 x 15.4 mm but that is not 50% longer :shrug:
Ive just been looking on photobox and they don't seem to list 4x6, also wouldnt this size be no good for a landscape photo?

Infact all those sizes listed here seem not to be on printing websites. so how do you get them printed? Surely companies cant just print for full frame cameras. There has to be alot more Cmos sensors etc than full frames?

Very confused.

 

[Quickshooter]

Also just noticed all these sizes are higher than longer?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Rather than look at sensor size, look at your file size in pixel diamension.

I always print at the 3x2 ratio, so it's 6x4, 12x8, 18x12, 24x16 etc

 

[Quickshooter]

Oh right ok. forgive me, how do Check this? lol

 

[EOS_JD]

Hey I to have this problem and am struggling to get round it. My camera is Nikon D3100 which apparently has a sensor size of 23.1 x 15.4 mm but that is not 50% longer :shrug:

It is - 15.4mm x 1.5 = 23.1mm

So it's 23.1mm wide by 15.4mm long (or if you turn the camera to portrait orientation it's 23.1mm long x 15.4mm wide.

Ive just been looking on photobox and they don't seem to list 4x6, also wouldnt this size be no good for a landscape photo?

Infact all those sizes listed here seem not to be on printing websites. so how do you get them printed? Surely companies cant just print for full frame cameras.

Use 6x4 as the size You can rotate the frame to fit (landscape or portrait orientation) - Same with any of the other print sizes (you are making it more complicated than it is)

There has to be alot more Cmos sensors etc than full frames?

CMOS chips are what the sensors are made of I believe - whether for CROP (I think you meant that) cameras or Full Frame.

Both Nikon & Canon cameras (and most others) have a 3:2 ratio straight out the camera (both croppers and full frame cameras are the same). Some cameras use a 4/3rds system which provides a 4:3 ratio (so 8x6, 12x9, 16x12, 20x16)

Although that is what comes out of the camera you can resize yourself in post production by cropping off the elements you want to remove. You can't make a 6x4 image fit a 7x5 print without either cropping or having a border around the image.

We all have the same issue (although it's not an iossue once you understand that)

Wedding photographers usually leave a lot of room around the subjects when shooting groups in case anyone wants a 10x8 which crops a lot off the edges a 6x4 style image.

So think about print sizes when you shoot.

Hope that helps a little

Jim

 

[snappingsam]

there is no standard way of putting the dimensions - most people in the UK would talk about a ten by eight - or 10x8, in America they talk about eight by tens or 8x10.

in the Uk its normally 6x4, 5x7, 8x6, 10x8 - its strange, although we've been taught the metric system in schools for 40+ years virtually no-one talks about 20cmx25cm (which is a 10x8 inch!)

 

[Quickshooter]

It is - 15.4mm x 1.5 = 23.1mm

So it's 23.1mm wide by 15.4mm long (or if you turn the camera to portrait orientation it's 23.1mm long x 15.4mm wide.

Ok I understand that now and where the crop factor comes from.




Use 6x4 as the size You can rotate the frame to fit (landscape or portrait orientation) - Same with any of the other print sizes (you are making it more complicated than it is)

I don't think I am well not on purpose any way when i up load one of my landscape pics to that photobox, and select a size in landscape form it crops loads off! i cant swap to portrait as its a landscape photo and already in that selection. the only way I get it to fit is like the OP says click stretch to fit, then you get white lines at the top and bottom.



CMOS chips are what the sensors are made of I believe - whether for CROP (I think you meant that) cameras or Full Frame.

Both Nikon & Canon cameras (and most others) have a 3:2 ratio straight out the camera (both croppers and full frame cameras are the same). Some cameras use a 4/3rds system which provides a 4:3 ratio (so 8x6, 12x9, 16x12, 20x16)

Although that is what comes out of the camera you can resize yourself in post production by cropping off the elements you want to remove. You can't make a 6x4 image fit a 7x5 print without either cropping or having a border around the image.

We all have the same issue (although it's not an iossue once you understand that)

Wedding photographers usually leave a lot of room around the subjects when shooting groups in case anyone wants a 10x8 which crops a lot off the edges a 6x4 style image.

So think about print sizes when you shoot.

Hope that helps a little

Jim

Helps a little I think I need a book lol I learn easier with examples and being shown. sounds a bit weird you have to think about printing it when you take the photo, I thought you should be able to just print what you want. i **** haha

 

[EOS_JD]

Helps a little I think I need a book lol I learn easier with examples and being shown. sounds a bit weird you have to think about printing it when you take the photo, I thought you should be able to just print what you want. i **** haha

OK Look at this. Look at each colour as a layer

The red bottm layer area is the frame taken by your camera. A 3:2 ratio

The blue area is a 7:5 ratio

The green area is a 4:3 ratio

The yeallow a 5:4 ratio

The grey area is a 1:1 (square) ratio

With your image from the camera you cannot print a square image without cropping a large area off the image - just common sense - and the same acyually goes for all the other ratios too.

Your camera can print 6x4, 9x6, 12x8, 15x10, 18x12 etc etc without losing anything - basically anything that is a 3:2 ratio.

Any other ratio would either need to be cropped or have a white border around it eg if you have your 3:2 ratio image and you want a 5:4 ratio image it could look somethikng like this.....

Just an example and could be different depending on the size you print at and the size of border you want.

Go to Photobox and use their software to look at printing an image at different sizes. Their software shows the crop areas.

 

[Quickshooter]

Hey Jim Thank you for your persistence lol i understand now lol sorry it took so long ha.

I just checked with Photobox also and its all fine there the print I ordered I must of cropped hence why it has the white at top and bottom. My un cropped photos fit fine

So I guess the next problem is the cropping how do you know how to get the size you want, when using NX2 I only see pixels so is that what you use to determine the size?
Sorry for another question haha