Working with digital images

[Jim Walczak]

Hi All!
I'm new here, so let me take a moment to introduce myself.  I've been playing with photography for many years (since high school...I'm 38 now) and have recently started taking it a little more seriously and am considering persueing a career as a photographer.  I recently purchased an Olympus C-4000 (-wonderful- camera) to replace my rather out-dated Polaroid PDC 700.

I'm having a problem trying to get prints from my images...it appears to be an aspect ratio problem, but I'm not sure where.  Most recently, I tried to have a photo printed that I had set up as a 6"x8" file which included  a plain white 1/4" border (with the border the file was 6"x8") and when I tried to have it printed at a local camera shop, their equipment cropped most of my border out of my picture (and quite unevenly I might add!). I think their equipment "enlarged" the image area of the picture.  Now I would -think- that if the file is layed out as 6"x8" and if I'm having a 6"x8" print done, the file should print, border and all(?!?) What am I doing wrong here...I've tried this 3 times now at 3 different camera/photo stores and it's happened everytime.

As to the specifics of the pics themselves...again I've formatted these as 6"x8" pics, 300 dpi and pixel size is 2400x1800 on all of them and I'm doing all my editing in PhotoShop 7.  I have provided 3 examples of my pics in my gallery at BytePhoto.com...the picture titles are "The Rose", "Purple Sunset" and "Falls 2" and the links are (respectively);

http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27418&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27417&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

http://www.bytephoto.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=27415&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

I'm hoping to use these pics (as well as others) in a portfolio while I'm "job hunting" but obviously having the edges and borders of the pictures cropped looks quite unproffesional.

Basically, I need to know what I'm doing wrong here and how to fix it!  I'm grateful to everyone for your collective wisdom, experience and opinions...thanks!

Bright Blessings & Gentle Breezes,
Jim

[Mike54]

Hi Jim and welcome to Digicamhelp.

I'm probably not the best person to answer the question but for starters you might check http://www.digicamhelp.com/what-is-aspect-ratio/what-is-aspect-ratio.htm From there, personally I might suggest that you try something online to get your prints. For example I use www.winkflash.com and have been quite happy with the results (I'm not affiliated  ). You can download their  software and set your images the way you like, with or without borders. You also have the opportunity to move the image around so that if there is any cropping needed you get to decide what it will be. Then upload your pics and wait 3 - 5 days (I've never waited more than 3).

Hope that helps but don't be afraid to ask more questions.

BTW, nice waterfall shot.

[Jim Walczak]

Hey Mike,
Thanks for the suggestion...actually I do have an account with Snapfish or something or other, the problem here is that again, I'm looking to use these for a portfolio so I'm being a little crtitcal of the quality of the print...and I really don't want to pay for prints if their not going to fit my needs. By getting them done locally, I can examine the pics and if their not up to snuff, I just don't take them.

Also I did look thru that link on the aspect ratio, but I really don't think thats the actual problem since I'm formatting the pictures as 6x8 for 6x8 prints.  What "seems" to be happening is that the printing equipment isn't recognising my borders and is enlarging the print a tad to compensate. I tried it again this afternoon and whats really bothering me here is that the border -does- show up on the preview, it's just not coming out on the prints.  I showed the lady at the photolab and she ran the pic a second time when she saw the border was coming up on the preview...both pics came out identical with the border mostly (but not fully...again rather unevenly) cropped off.  Her suggestion was try a different photolab.

Thanks for the comment on "Falls 2"...it took me 3 sets of water falls and about 40-50 pics to get that one! LOL! It's definatly one of the shots I want to use for my portfolio .

Thanks again for the suggestions...guess I'll keep working at it.

Bright Blessings,
Jim

[Deb]

Hi there Jim,
I'm not sure why your lab can't print the image the way you've prepped it. Are they custom printing your files or is it automated? Can they not just print your image WITH a border and trim it to your 6x8 size? I know this isn't a solution, merely a workaround but if you're in a crunch it may help.

In any case, if you're thinking about pursuing photography, you may want to consider printing your own images. It would add another layer of control for you over those images and is a terrific way to learn about what you can pull from your digital negatives (files).

Let us know how things go.
Cheers,
Deb

[Jim Walczak]

Thanks Deb,
Normally I would just do my own prints...I have 2 decent inkjets that do a pretty decent job, but for my portfolio, I really want actual prints.  I can usually see the difference between an inkjet print and an actual photo, so I figured if I can, so would a perspective employer.  If I were just printing these to be framed for around the house, it wouldn't be such an issue for me (and some of my pics will be hung around the house), but again I really want this to look as proffesional as possible.

I have found one place that I may be able to work with for doing 4x6's...gonna give it a try this afternoon. I spoke with their photo lab manager and he gave me some suggestions that granted, may take a while to "tweak" but could very possibly work.  If I can get some good 4x6's to print then I can go through them and decide what I want blown up to 6x8 or 8x10 for the portfolio.  There is a local place that I know can do this (the blow ups), the only catch is their a bit pricey and I usually have to wait a week or so for my prints...hence the desire for a preview first :-)

Another part of the problem may also simply be that I'm a little too picky (LOL!).  As a musician, I've often been accused to being a perfectionist...and I guess it's probably true.  It's logical to assume that I'm also simply being the same way with my photography (as well as my graphic art work).  It's probably just a matter of my typical attitude of, "I want it my way, I don't want to compromise and I want it -now-!" (LOL!!!).  On the other hand, I know what I want, I know what I expect of myself and I know what I expect of others (especially if its a service that I have to pay for!).  I've never really seen this as a character flaw in myself...just an annoyance to others :-).  I should also probably mention that my father was a printer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer for 43 years...I grew up with graphics, printing, art, etc., so it's also probably reasonable to assume that I tend to have higher standards then most.

Anyways, thanks again for the suggestions...I'll keep working at it!

Bright Blessings,
Jim

[Deb]

Hi again. I know what you mean. To my surprise, however, there have been amazing advances in printer technologies (pro level, that is). For research and conclusions of archival inks and papers go to http://www.wilhelm-research.com/.  

One other mention, are you familiar with Lightjet on Fuji Crystal Archive? This is often used for fine art photography where archival quality is a must. You might like it. The ouput (color gamut, clarity, tonal range, etc.) is fabulous! 30x40's? Awesome! Maybe your lab has one.

Best of luck with the lab!

Toodles,
Deb