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Editors require pictures at 300 dpi saved as JPEG o TIFF. It is frustrating to get photos rejected because they were not saved at a 300 dpi resolution. Image editors are sometimes not really sure themselves about how is resolution correlated with paper size and don’t realize that by simply changing the resolution they could make the photo good for print. Dpi means dot per inch and can be easily confused with ppi, which means pixels per inch. Dpi determines how many dots will appear on paper, while ppi refers to the number of pixels on the screen. More dpi means more detail on prints and this is why most publications ask that the images are saved at at least 300 dpi. However, a small picture saved at 300 dpi may have less details than a larger one saved at 150 dpi, so knowing the image size is also important.

Image size and dimensions. Image size - either in centimeters, inches, or pixel number - indicates how large the photo will look on paper. This together with dpi is the picture’s resolution.

Resolution. The resolution is an indicator of how detailed a printed photo will be at a certain image size.

Resizing pictures in Photoshop ™. Here is how to ensure your photos are saved accordingly to the editor’s requirements. You must first go carefully through the publication’s guidelines. Publications usually ask for 300 dpi photos. Naturally, you want to save the pictures at 300 dpi at the largest dimensions you can. In Adobe Photoshop ™, you can do this by following a few simple steps: 1. Open the picture. 2. In the Image tab, click Resize and find the command called Image Size. 3. Write down the height and width in pixels.

These will change automatically when you change the number dpi, but you need to change them back so that the photo doesn’t look blurry. 4. Type 300 in the Resolution box - this is the number of dpi. 5. Change the picture back to its original pixel dimensions. The photo will now have a smaller size in inches or centimeters. These are the actual dimensions of the printed photo, so think about how it will look in the publication. A picture that is to small may not be good for print, so be careful. Other than that, you’re all set. All you need to do is send the photo to your editor. Photoshop also has a Batch Processing feature that enables you to perform these changes for several images at once.

Some publications may be very specific about the format they want for their photos, so it’s good to know what these formats are. RAW - a format used mostly by digital SLR cameras. The files are very large and usually can’t be submitted directly to the publication. However, if you’re not a professional photographer, you are very unlikely to come across this problem. JPEG or JPG is the most familiar format, used by most types of cameras, either consumer or “prosumer”. If you edit a JPEG image, part of the information is lost to allow the file to be compressed.

If you edit and save it several times it can become pixelated or look fuzzy. This is why some publications require photos in TIFF or TIF formats. TIFF files can be saved and re-saved a lot of times with no information loss. They are generally larger than JPEG files. PhotShop ™ allows you to convert JPEG images to TIF and vice versa from the Save As command.

What is important to remember is that there are two components of resolution, image size and dpi. This will ensure you will save your pictures correctly.

Resources: Alex D. is an expert on photography with http://reshade.com . Reshade.com works in the field of online image resizing applications providing a free to use online photo resizing service. It’s also possible to order an image enlargement software application for Windows. Give it a try !

As images have come to play an essential role in any publishing material, the quality of printing has also gained importance and has become a matter of research and development.

Photographic printing is the technique of producing a printed material that is identical to the original picture and involves preparing the negative to be transposed on sensitized paper. This process generally has three main steps that can be done either with an automated photographic printer or in a photographic darkroom. First, the picture is exposed on the sensitized paper through an enlarger or contact printer. Then the image is chemically processed and the print is toned. A photo can be printed in black and white (monochrome) or in color.

The quality of the final output is highly dependent on the printer you choose. But before selecting a printer you should have a deeper understanding on how to view a colored picture. First of all, the light should be the about the same in brightness and color as when the image is seen. It may be difficult to provide the same light in all situations, but you have to know that it deeply impacts the way the image looks. For instance, if you look at a color print in the sunlight it may appear somewhat bluer than if you saw it in artificial light (the light of a bulb).

The next thing you have to do is choose a good printer. Luckily enough, the technology has evolved so much that a high quality printer can produce almost the same output as traditional photography. There is a wide range of inks, papers and processes you can choose from. To make sure you choose a good printer, try experimenting on several models with some of your images and compare the outputs.

You also need to know some things about printer resolution, although this may not be the dominant criterion for choosing a certain device. Resolution is measured in number of pixels. Each pixel is made out of many tiny drops of color that can be controlled by the PC. Color printers only use three primary colors - magenta, cyan and yellow - and compose the rest through what is called a subtractive process. Most of them also have a separate black toner so that they can produce a deeper black. Through a subtractive process a printer can provide eight main colors.

There is a very wide range of printers available and the best choice ultimately goes down to the level of quality you need. At the lower end you have inkjet printers, which can work great for low printing volumes and personal printing. At the opposite end you have dye sublimation devices, which can provide a very high quality. These printers don’t use toners or inks, but solid dye which are converted into gas through the process of sublimation without passing through a liquid state. These kind of printers are the best choice for the high-quality printing required in published materials with colored graphics.

Color laser printers are the most popular these days. These printers use a laser beam which focuses on a photoelectric drum or belt and creates an electrical charge in sections which need to be colored. The toner then adheres on these areas. For monochrome printers this process only has one step. Color printers repeat the same step for each color - magenta, cyan, yellow and black.

Resources: Alex Don has been writing about photography techniques for http://reshade.com . Reshade.com specializes in image resizing offering a free online photo resizer tool. As a plus it offers an image resizing software application . Give it a try now!

People often have problems finding balance in their photos because they simply do not know how to start. Most of them lack any professional training in photography and don’t have the knowledge to get the most out of their photos. Others have the knowledge but do not know how to use a specific, sophisticated model. However, the secret of taking a balanced photo does not lay in the specific functions of the camera, but in mastering the main principles of positioning, lighting and contrast. Here are ten tips to help you improve your work:

1. Start by setting the proper contrast. The contrast is that feature that brightens or darkens the image accordingly to the background. When it is dark outside you should use a lighter contrast, while during the daytime when there’s a lot of light go for a darker one.

2. Position your camera right. There are several methods to choose a good positioning. These include the Lines, the Rule of Thirds and the Portioning. The lines use the natural angles of the things in the picture. If you are photographing a mountain landscape, you can either follow the lines or go against them depending on how you want the picture to look. When using the Rule of Thirds, the picture is divided in nine sections and you balance it accordingly. Portioning refers to placing the subject of the photo to one side to create a more interesting picture. These techniques help you to highly diversify your photos.

3. Focus the image in different areas to get more varied effects. People tend to focus more on sharper, clearer images than on blurred ones. Focusing on different areas will help you achieve a three-dimensional view.

4. Use your zoom function to improve balance. You can either zoom out to include more things in your photo so that the viewer has more to see or zoom in to focus on a certain aspect.

5. Take advantage of the flash function. Although flash is generally used in dark conditions, you can use it in broad daylight to in order to achieve some interesting effects. For example, you can make the background lighter giving the picture a whole different look.

6. Play with colors to express the ideas you want. You can use darker tones for warmer images which have more emotion and lighter hues to express freedom. There are a lot of color coordinations you can experiment with.

7. If you have attachable lenses, use them. They make a lot of difference in the picture. Attachable lenses help you achieve the so-called ‘depth of field’. Although this effect can also be achieved through other methods, it is stronger when you use lenses. There are many different kinds of lenses, such as wide-angle and fish-eye, which help you achieve various effects.

8. Take several pictures of the same object. If you have a digital camera, you no longer have to worry about wasting film. You can take as many photos as you want and then erase those you don’t like. Taking more pictures of the same thing helps you improve your chances of getting at least one that looks just right.

9. Have patience. Good pictures may come hard and you need to be patient enough to wait for the right moment. It won’t turn out the way you want every time, but there will always be other opportunities so don’t despair.

10. If you don’t know how to lead the viewer into the photograph, you can include a foreground. This is a zoomed-in area that can be used as a starting point and leads viewers towards the rest of the photo.

Resources: Alex is a professional photographer for http://reshade.com . Reshade.com works in the field of online photo processing applications providing a free online image resizer tool. It’s also possible to buy a photo resizing software for Windows. Try it for yourself!

Elderly people are generally not very fond of having their picture taken. The reasons are obvious - old faces are easy victims of deep shadows, harsh lighting, unforgiving close-ups or sharp lenses. They may look good at candle light but once their granddaughter takes out her digital camera, the good looks are history. The obvious solutions are not that great. They can insist on a distant photo which only shows a small, indistinguishable face, put on a lot of make-up or just stay out of the photo. Fortunately, there is a better solution. With a little effort from the photographer, a picture of an old person that he/she feels comfortable with can be largely improved. You just need to familiarize yourself with a photo editing application.

You can start from the top of the photo, where the dark roots and stray hairs ruin the hair dew. The clone tool can easily remove stray hair completely. Just copy the surrounding area using a feathered clone stamp at 50% transparency. As for the dark roots, you need to clone areas of the hair which have the same color and run in the same direction in case the subject has straight hair. A 30% transparency is good for getting a natural effect. Zoom in as much as the size of your screen allows it.

Shiny foreheads are a bit more difficult to repair, but they can often be improved using a disturb brush. Set it at medium strength and 50% transparency. Set the feather at 100% and select a size that is twice as large as the area of the highlight. Darkening the area is not a good option, but you can do a great job by working carefully with the air brush. Choose a skin tone from the neighboring area using the eye dropper tool and fill the highlight area at 3% transparency.

Blemishes can be easily corrected with the clone tool set at 70% transparency. Copy from the neighboring area of unblemished skin. About the same thing can be done to correct eye bags. Drag the clone at 85% transparency over the bags to give the subject a younger look. However, be careful not to overdo it.

You can also work carefully to lightening the whites of the subject’s eyes. Use a dotted line mask to outline them and transform the masked areas into an object. Open the brightness and contrast box and click once on the brightness at 3%. Do not make any attempt to adjust this area more. There is a method to open the eyes a bit but it is very complicated. You can also put a highlight in the eye if there is none using a 2-3 pixel size brush and a light grey color. You can use a feathered shape of about 100% or a crescent shape for outdoor pictures.

Another common problem of digital photographs is that teeth often look dark or yellowish. Place a dotted circle around them and open the brightness and contrast box. Click on the brightness at 5% and then adjust the color balance with 3% on magenta. You can also correct crooked teeth by cloning a good one from the opposite side. However, it takes some practice and professional training to get it right.

If the skin is too pale, you can correct it using a histogram-ceter arrow. Slide it a little bit to the right to get darker skin. Sliding it to the left should darken midtones, simulating a light sun tan. The right ends represent the whites and the left ends the blacks. There are also other methods to correct imperfections in the face. Adjusting color balance can help you warm it up by masking the head and the face and changing the balance 2% yellow and 2% red. In case it looks unnatural, try 1% for each. Windy conditions, dark shadows and blemishes are temporary, whereas a nice photo is forever.

Resources: Alex writes about photography practices for http://reshade.com . The company specializes in photo resizing applications and provides a free online picture resizing tool. Additionally it provides a picture resizing program for Windows. Try it now!

Landscapes are one of the most appealing areas of photography and with so many beautiful scenery it’s easy to figure out why. You may want to escape from the city for one day and taking the camera with you seems natural. You will probably come home with some nice photos, but how you transform them into really inspiring pictures?

The first thing to keep in mind is that good lighting is essential. You usually need sunlight to take a good landscape photo, but harsh light should be avoided. When the sun is high above the sky, the light is too strong and colors and details are lost because there is too much contrast. The best times to take photos are early in the morning or in late afternoon. On a sunny summer day you should avoid the 9am to 4pm period, which is almost all day. In other seasons you have more hours to take photos because the sun is lower. If the sun is low on the sky the objects have longer shadows, which reveals their shape, giving a three dimensional feel to the picture. This will make for much more inspiring photos compared to those taken with the sun up, which appear more flat.

You will generally want to capture a wide area of the landscape. You need to use a wide angle lens or choose the widest setting for your zoom. This way you can fill up more of the frame. It will also distort perspective by bringing close objects even closer and distant ones looking farther away. However, you shouldn’t always use wide angle. Sometimes the scene provides you with the opportunity to zoom in to a certain object. For example, if you are above a small town looking at some nice roof tops with a church in the middle spiring above trees, you can zoom in to capture the most interesting area.

Viewpoint and composition also play significant parts. Creating depth will make your photo much more interesting. A good way to do this is by finding a focal point, such as a bridge, stream, tree or boulder. Think about how the image will look like from different heights. Don’t just take all the photos from your head height. Include interesting objects and look for streams or footpaths to draw the viewer’s eye into the picture. Diagonal lines generally have the best effect.

Color can make a big difference in a photo. Look for colors such as bright flowers, a hillside covered with trees or a stone wall with green moss. A red phone box may even be interesting if it fits in the surroundings. Finding bright colors may be more difficult during winter. You can take photos early in the morning when it is very cold and frosty areas are in shadow, creating a cool blue shade which can look beautiful.

There are also some accessories you can invest in to help create better landscape photos. A monopod or tripod will make for sharper images and slow you down, allowing you to focus on the composition. Filters can also have good effects. A polarizing filter will improve those photos taken during midday, increasing saturation. Graduated filters are very popular as they can darken the sky and thus reduce the contrast.

Pre-scanning the area is also very useful. When you arrive somewhere, walk or drive around the area to see where the good photo opportunities are. If there’s too much sun you can return at a better time. Also bear in mind that a totally dull landscape during summer can become a beautiful scenery in autumn colors. The best way to learn is through experience and the more time you spend shooting the more chances you have to get some very rewarding pictures.

Resources: Alex Don is a professional photographer for http://reshade.com . Reshade focuses on online image processing and offers a free to use online image resizing tool. It also offers a picture resizer software application for Windows. Try it out now!

After a few years of owning a digital camera, the average amateur photographer has a huge number of pictures somewhere on an external hard disk or on CDs. Some of his favorites have been printed out and placed into an album and he may have used a few with a Calendar Kit to give out as a gift. Others have been used to make a fun slideshow to watch at a family reunion. But there are still hundreds or maybe thousands of pictures which are left there and never used. What could you do with them?

The truth is the options are countless. An idea that might suit you is a digital photo frame. This is something like a small external flat screen you can hook up to a computer or insert a memory card and cycle through several photos. There is a wide variety of frames available on the market today. The cheapest ones range from 70 pounds for a 5.6 inch one to 150 pounds for 7 inches. Prices will continue to drop over the next years as the manufacturing costs for color screens will decrease.

A cheaper alternative is using an online photo service. These have spread up all over the web and will allow your friends and family to browse through your photos whenever they want. Many of these services are free of charge and they can be easily used by people with very little computer knowledge. Or, if you have the time and want to create your own photo website, there are many tutorials available on the Internet that take you through the whole process step-by-step, from buying a domain name to uploading your images.

There are also many online companies that offer high-quality printing services. A single photo can cost as little as one penny. You can also choose a different printing option, like getting your digital images printed onto mugs, t-shirts, cushions, teddy bears and anything that crosses your mind.

An option which has gained popularity these days is canvas printing. The photo is printed directly on a specially treated canvas, framed and sent to your house. Up until recently, this service used to be quite expensive, but thanks to a series of innovations in the canvas printing technique, it has become much more affordable. Canvas printing turns a digital photograph into an interesting, eye-catching piece that can bring even the dullest wall to life. The size of these prints ranges from 40×30cm to 160×120. However, not all digital images are suitable for high enlargements. You can use the tools embedded in the canvas printing website to see if your photo is suitable for the print size you have chosen.

Besides all the online services out there, you can also use the services of the automated photo kiosks which can now be found on all high streets. All you have to do is insert a memory card and select the pictures you want to print, then you put in some money and the machine prints them for you on the spot. Or you can use the same machine to burn photos on a CD. This is a very convenient option for photographers who don’t have a good printer or a CD writer at home.

Resources: Alex is an expert on photography techniques with http://reshade.com . Reshade.com works in the domain of online picture processing programs and provides a free to use online photo resizing tool. It additionally provides an image resizing program for Windows. Try it out now!