Printing an 8x10
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It doesn't FIT!
Here's why ... and then I'll explain what to do about it.
A digital SLR camera's sensor is usually pretty close to a 2:3 ratio. My Nikon D100, for example, has a sensor size of 3008x2000 pixels. So at 300 pixels per inch - my preferred printing resolution - the Nikon renders an original print size of 10.026 inches by 6.66 inches.
My Canon S3is Point & Shoot has a max resolution of 2816x2112 pixels which translates to 9.386 by 7.04 inches.
So ... you see the problem. Neither of these dimensions translates exactly into the required ratio for an 8x10 - which would be more like 2500x2000 pixels or 3000x2400 pixels.
Other camera manufacturers vary slightly from these dimensions, and, of course, the total pixel count is different if you have a camera with a resolution that is greater or smaller than my examples (both of which are 6 MP). But, across the board, this is pretty much what we all have to deal with.
So, let's say you've taken a great photo of the family, all grouped together for a once-in-a-lifetime shot. And that you literally filled the frame from side to side with aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas and kids.
After you take the picture, everybody ooohs and aaahs at the image on the screen of your camera, and tells you what a great photographer you are ...
So you trot down to the local box store or go to your favorite printing kiosk to get 8x10 copies for everybody.
But when you get your much-anticipated prints back, Uncle Festus (on the far left) has been sliced down the middle so that only his belly shows, and Aunt Bea (far right) has disappeared entirely!When you politely ask the photo clerk what happened, they shrug and tell you they don't know ... or that (and this is the truth) your file was the "wrong size."
And they can't fix it!
Neither can you - unless you know a heck of a lot about Photoshop and can blend in more floor or ceiling - or whatever - to get the image to the correct proportions.
Of course, you could ask the clerk to give you prints that are wide enough. But, even if they knew how - which they probably don't - then you'd have prints that are 10 inches wide, but only 6.6 inches deep!
So ...
Here's a step-by-step example. I'm using two pictures I just shot of my little car sitting in my driveway - one too tight for an 8x10 crop, the other with plenty of room to work in.
Shot # 1-Too Tight
Here are the 8x10 Crop Marks:
To begin with. I shot much wider:
Now I can crop to 8x10, and even cut out some space top and bottom:
And finally ... plenty of room all around!
I'm the "official" photographer for a fishing tournament every summer here on the Gulf Coast, taking hundreds of pictures - mostly of people and their boats (Boaters LOVE pictures of their boats!). And the one thing I've learned for sure is this: I cannot sell a picture of a fisherman's boat if the front and/or rear of the boat are cut off.
So I always shoot a little wider than I might, and leave enough space on both sides so that when the picture gets cropped at the lab - which it will if they order an 8x10 - the customer gets BOTH ends of his boat. In fact, while processing every picture in the computer before it goes to my Shutterfly web page, I go ahead and crop to an 8x10 dimension ... because I know from experience that's the size most people are going to order.
But, hey! I do this for a living! It's become second nature to me.
You can do the same - and in the process make everybody happy with your final prints. Even Uncle Festus and Aunt Bea!
By the way, the same problem exists if you're making a 5x7 print too - but slightly less so.
You may have guessed - 4x6 is not a problem, because it's an exact 2:3 ratio. Same is true for an 8x12. (But try finding an 8x12 frame at your local store!)
Shutterfly.com For great 8x10 prints (or any other size) go here:
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