Resizing images for projection - Wincanton Camera Club

A guide for club members, compiled by Roger Lush

It is essential to get the best results from your pictures when they are projected through the club projector, and so before submitting your images for a competition they need to be resized to match the projector’s resolution which is 1024 x 768 pixels. However, since the WCPF insists on images being 1400 x 1050 pixels, and as a club we enter pictures in the WCPF competitions, it would be best to avoid having to repeat the process by submitting all pictures to club competitions sized to 1400 pixels wide x 1050 pixels high (landscape format). The maximum file size allowed is 1200kb (1.2Mb).

Resizing should be done once you have finished any alterations, adjustments and cropping and sharpening* and it is best then to use “Save As” to save resized pictures to a separate folder rather than saving over the original picture.

*Sharpening can, if preferred, be applied after resizing has been completed; this is a matter of personal preference.

If you have either Photoshop or Elements, then follow these instructions:


1. Go to the top of the screen and in the Menu bar click on Image then scroll down to Image Size (Alt+Ctrl+I on Windows PC). In earlier versions of Elements the menu or route to this function may vary slightly.Up will pop a box and in it you will see lots of numbers. The ones we are interested in are Resolution, Height and Width.




2. Click on the drop-down arrow beside the resample method (at the bottom of the box) and select Bicubic Sharper from the list.




3. Then in the Resolution box make the numbers 72 pixels/inch, either double clicking on the resolution to highlight it or by backspacing and tyyping 72. You will see that the width and height have changed.




4. Next, go to the Height and Width boxes. In these enter the values that you need, 1400 wide and 1050 high – if the Constrain Proportions box is ticked then you may find that the height will automatically change to a figure less than 1050 because the natural ratio of the picture from your camera is 3:2 or 4:3.




5. This can be overcome by un-ticking the Constrain Proportions box and typing in 1050 in the Height box; however this may distort your picture.




6. It is therefore better to leave the Constrain Proportion box ticked and have a slightly reduced height, or crop your picture to a slightly different ratio before resizing.

If you are resizing a portrait format picture remember that the WCPF only accepts a maximum height of 1050 pixels, so you must therefore enter 1050 in the Height first, leave the Constrain Proportions box ticked and allow the Width to adjust automatically.




Remember that 1400 and or 1050 pixels are maximum figures and should not be exceeded, nor should the file size limit of 1200kb.


Please note that if you alter the Height and Width boxes first then the Resolution box will not change. Then when you alter the Resolution box the Height and Width figures will end up being a lot smaller than you want and you will end up with a postage stamp sized image on the screen.


7. Convert your image to sRGB instead of Adobe RGB, if it isn’t already sRGB, as that is what the projector shows best. Most cameras are set to sRGB by default, but your software may not necessarily save pictures in the same format.


8. Any sharpening of your images should take into account that viewing distance will be at least 12 feet. Remember that over-sharpening will result in an obvious pixilated effect when projected.


9. Save your image as a .JPG file at maximum quality, using the following file name format (which is the WCPF standard); Title_your name.jpg. For example, Trees_R Lush.jpg. Remember, use "Save As" so that the the original, full size version of your image is preserved.Please resize and name your images carefully.


Some people don’t resize, leaving it for the competition secretary to do. Some images are still being submitted @ 300 dpi, in .tiff, .psd, .bmp, or .gif formats. Please make it easy on us!



Below are some links to online tutorials on resizing and changing the colour profile in popular photo editing software.

Photoshop/Elements

http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/Video-Tutorials/Search-Results/Imaging-Techniques/Resizing-images-for-the-web/

http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/Video-Tutorials/Search-Results/Imaging-Techniques/Resizing-images-for-the-web/

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/essentials/image-resizing.php

Paintshop Pro

http://www.digital.mississippi-photo-gallery.com/resizing/

http://www.tomjepson.co.uk/tutorials/32/how-to-resize-an-image.html