What can you do when someone or something gets right into your photo frame just as you're taking that important action shot?
PHOTO TIP: BONUS! Continue to hold the camera in the exact same position you held it when taking the shot. After the scene is clear, take another picture of the same scene to get a clear background shot. As long as the obstruction did not come in between your camera and the person or thing you are taking a picture of; we can fix it.
When you upload the extra background photo along with your captured sequence photos, ARTEXC can utilize this clean background shot to replace the obtructed image from your action photo(s). And we will do it for half the regular Photo Enhancement price - Saving you $19.50 on the first hour and $9.00 for each half-hour of service thereafter, by just taking and uploading an extra picture!
How would you rate the photograph on the right?
PHOTO TIP: The photograph on the right may look like a good picture, but if you look carefully, the ocean is tilting down on the left side. We often receive images that have leveling problems. Sometimes even the professional photographer forgets to ensure their camera is level when taking pictures. It may seem okay when looking at a small 4x6 print, but enlarge it to a big canvas print to hang on the wall? It needs to be level.
Before we enlarge any photo to a canvas print, our photo editors will check for leveling. Images that are not squared properly will be rotated, and in so doing will sometimes lose valuable image around the edges.
Leveling your camera before you click:
Several ways to help insure your camera is level when you take a picture: Look through the viewfinder for any architectural structures like buildings in the background, i.e., windows, doorways, corners of a room, or a building off in the distance, any structure you know will have straight up and down, vertical lines. Avoid using telephone poles unless you have first compared them with other structures to see if they are plumb, straight up and down. Sometimes telephone poles can be leaning one way or another. In the viewfinder, be sure the vertical sides of your photo frame are parallel, straight up and down, with the architectural object's verticle lines in the background. If you don't have verticle lines to help you square the image up, like in the photo example above, look for the sure horizontal lines - like the ocean! Water is always level.
If we have to crop away additional image space due to leveling and sizing adjustments, it could mean cutting off part of an important piece in the picture - like part of a person's face!
Below is another example of an image that needed rotation, and unless custom photo enhancements were made, desirable pieces of the picture would have been lost.
We often crop the camera Image to fit the Standard Framing-sized Print
PHOTO TIP: Because many of our enlargement sizes do not have the same height and width proportions that most camera image sizes have, we sometimes have to crop, or trim away the edges on the sides or top and bottom of each photo to reshape the image size to fit the enlargement size. Make sure there is at least some boarder space around all four sides of the main subject. This will allow format adjusting without taking away from your composition.
Now, having said that, be careful not to get too carried away with extra space around the subject of your photograph. It is very important to avoid the typical snapshot where the people being photographed are so far back in the picture, you can hardly see them. Move in closer when you take the portrait shots. Whether it me one person or a large group of people, be sure to get as much of them to fill the camera frame as possible ensuring some space on the top, sides and bottom allowed for a litle cropping.
Simple tricks to using natural light can help you take your best photos.
PHOTO TIP: We all know to use the flash indoors and when it's dark outside, but sometimes we can get better indoor pictures by not using the flash; and better outdoor pictures, even in broad daylight, by using the flash. Sound confusing?
Look at the two indoor examples on the right. The top one was taken with a flash. Notice how flattened the image appears from the harsh, direct light of the camera's flash. T he background has lost some of its three-dimensional quality. The colors are colder - not at all warm and welcoming compared to the bottom photo that was taken without the flash using the interior lighting of the house with the radiant sunlight coming in through the window. Here the woman's face is better defined, and she appears more life-like sitting in the chair looking at you.
Some may consider the top portrait to be a better picture. Other's may see it the other way. The beauty about the art of photography is you can decide which outcome you want for your pictures; and with PHOTO TIPS like this one about when to use and not to use flash, you will have more options available to you. We suggest when you are taking important photos of family and friends, try both ways: with flash, and without flash. Then you will have both to compare for your favorite one. Digitally speaking, the tip and extra shot cost nothing, but they can make a really big difference in the quality of your pictures.
A 35mm film or slide frame scanned at 300 dpi produces approximately a 283 pixel by 425 pixel image which is too small, even for a 4x6 inch print. The print resolution would only be about 70 dpi. You would need approximately 150 dpi, the print resolution standard for magazines, for example, to have a decent image to view within an arm's length - the distance people typically examine 4x6 inch prints. The same frame scanned at 3200 dpi gives an image about 3000 pixels by 4500 pixels which is plenty for a nice, high quality 8x10 inch print (about 380 dpi).
The same principle applies when scanning photos for enlargement. Let's say you have a small picture of your great grandfather about 3x4 inches in size. And you would like ARTEXC to enlarge it to an 11x14 print. An 11x14 is a little less then four times greater in size (3.667xH and 3.5xW). To estimate how much to set the original dpi setting, we can multiply 300 dpi x 4 (or 300 x 3.667 to be more precise) and we get 1200 dpi. Scanning a 3x4 print at an original dpi setting of 1200dpi should give you a quality 11x14 canvas print. Scanning that same image using the 35mm negative for the original dpi, the scanner would need to be set around 3600dpi.
Another approach to scanning 35mm film and slides is to set the scan dpi to the image's output-size. That is, setting the output dpi at 8x12, or at 12x18, 20x30, 24x36 and so on. Notice that some of these output sizes do not coincide with the exact print sizes available in our selected product sizes. This is due to the fact that many standardized frames are not the same format proportion of 35mm film, and cropping will be necessary when sizing the image to fit the final print dimensions. For your convenience and to help reduce your framing costs, ARTEXC has tried to stay within standardized frame sizes on most of their canvas print sizes - with few exceptions. Adjust the scanner to the output-size dpi, output being the approximate size of your desired print. If you set the dpi at the output size, then a 300 dpi setting is appropriate.
In order to enlarge your photo to one of our extra large sizes, it is going to be a large image file of several hundred megabytes. Even so, photographs will vary in how fine they appear at larger sizes. The better the clarity and focus of a photo, and the larger or more prominent the main subject in a photo, the sharper the image will appear in the enlarged print. Highly detailed photographs generally will need even higher resolutions.
*Each 35 mm Film Frame (24x36mm) has an area of 1.395 square inches.
After multiplying the scanning DPI by itself, then multiplying that product with the film-frame’s area, a 2000 DPI scan would result in 5,580,000 pixels. This would be equivalent to taking a picture of the whole film frame with a 5.5 megapixel camera.*
1.395 x ( 2000 x 2000 ) = 5.58 MP*
A 3200 DPI scan would result in 14,284,800 pixels, approximately equivalent to taking a picture of the whole frame with a 14.3 megapixel camera.*
1.395 x ( 3200 x 3200 ) = 14.2848 MP*
Film can be enlarged many times greater than digital. To maximize the full potential of film, be sure to use a very good scanner set at a high DPI settings when scanning.
*Depending on aspect ratio of the camera, these numbers could vary.
Photographs should be taken with your camera set at the highest setting to create the largest files possible. Cameras capable of shooting in a RAW format provide us the best options to ensure a quality enlargement. If you make any adjustments to the picture with photo editing software such as Photoshop, make sure to save the file as a PSD (a Photoshop file format); TIFF would be the next preferred format; JPG tends to alter the pixels to reduce the file size and is great for internet images, but not the best for super large printing. Still, GIF would be the least recommended for enlarging your photograph into an oversize print. Picture files saved in any format are definitely best with no compression.
How large of a print we can make from your image is dependant on the quality of your camera and lens: The larger the file size, the bigger the print potential. Also keep in mind the distance at which your print will be viewed. The further back one stands to view your photograph, the lower the PPI needs to be.
"Although 110–133 LPI (lines per inch) dots are invisible to most people, adding the standard deviation to the mean viewing distance indicates that these dots will be visible to some people at 1.5–3.3 feet. Therefore, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, 110–133 LPI screens should not be used for materials to be viewed at reading distance. Instead, 150 LPI or higher screens should be employed" (Journal of Industrial Technology, Vol. 22, No. 2, April 2006 through June 2006, pg. 7. www.nait.org).
Therefore, if your photographic details are going to be scrutinized by viewers at a distance less than an arm’s length, the dots per inch (DPI) should be 150 DPI or greater. Otherwise for standing back to view a large print, around 100 DPI should be adequate. Please note: To prevent error diffusion which may cause visible distortion in the print quality, the printer’s resolution measured in DPI mathematically fixes its maximum LPI according to the rule of 16’s. Printer resolution in DPI / 16 = Maximum LPI: i.e., 2400 DPI / 16 = 150 LPI
Do not increase the resolution of your photograph in Photoshop to get a larger file size. Set your camera to the highest setting when taking the picture. Your photo will use more memory on your camera; however, taken at a higher setting for the intent to make oversize prints will give you better results.
Do not use your scanner to print out a digital photograph to mail to us. The quality of your image will be limited by the quality of your scanner and printer. Instead, simply upload your picture taken from your digital camera onto our server. If your Photograph was shot on 35mm film, see: Scanning your 35mm Film Frame to Digital.
Basic Guide comparing camera resolution and print size:
Megapixel (MP) figures relate to the total number of picture elements (pixels) in the image the camera photographs. For example: 10 MP could be an aspect ratio of e.g. 3000 x 3333 pixels.
With the example of a 3000 x 3333 pixel camera sensor, a printed image size of 30"x33.3", would have 100 PPI or 10,000 pixels per square inch.
Here is a basic guide comparing camera megapixels with print sizes and linear pixels per inch (PPI):
| Camera Megapixels | 6 MP | 7 MP | 8 MP | 10 MP | 12.7 MP | 16.6 MP | 21.1 MP | 35mm film* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Print Size | 16x20 | 18x24 | 20x30 | 24x36 | 30x40 | 32x48 | 40x60 | 40x60 |
| Pixels per Inch (approx) | 150 | 127 | 115 | 108 | 103 | 104 | 94 | 118 |
If I have a 10 megapixel digital camera and I want to enlarge my photograph into an 11"x14" picture, what will my dots per square inch be? How many dots per square inch do I need to get a good quality picture?
A 10 megapixel camera is 107pixels. The number of pixels per square inch (PPI) of your final image would be equivalent to 65,000 PPI:
107/ (11 x 14) ≈ 65,000
√65,000 = 250
The square root of 65,000 is 250 - thus you have 250 pixels per (linear) inch in your printed image. You can go considerably larger.
In comparison: Magazine publications typically print their images at 150 DPI (150 dots across one linear inch, 22,500 dots per square inch). In regard to your 10 MP camera photo enlarged to an 11x14 print: 250 pixels per linear inch should give a good quality result - certainly good enough for displaying on your wall, or even in a photo competition provided the dpi is set at a much higher than resolution than magazine publications and a high quality printer is used such as the kind we use at ARTEXC).
You could go considerably larger using a 10 MP camera provided your optics (lens) is good. 107/ (28 x 42) ≈ 8,503.4; the square root of which is 92. 92 PPI is less than the recommended minimum. However, with 16 dots per pixel, approximately 1500 DPI (1492 to be exact), the color blend, accuracy and detail would still be satisfactory.
Dots per inch (dpi) is the term used for printers. The pixels of the image are printed onto the paper or canvas by a series of tiny dots. Think of them as sub-pixels. Each pixel output is made up of different colored inks usually derived from 4 or 6 color wells (or ink cartridges) depending on the printer. Because of the limited number of color ink cartridges in a printer, the printer needs to mix these inks to reproduce all the color variations of the image. Generally, the higher the dpi, the better the overall tonality of the picture, colors should appear more accurate and blending between colors should be smoother. ARTEXC uses printer technology that outputs from 9 color wells (nearly double the amount of colors available in most printers and optimizes DPI settings to provide a maximum color blend at an affordable cost to its customers.
