30x45 sized print

<p>If I blew up a picture to size 30x45 will it come out crisp clear if my D200 is used? A client wants a huge family picture. What's the biggest size I can go with my D200?</p>

<p>That's 86 PPI. You can print 86 PPI, particularly a large photo that's going to be viewed from a few feet, but it's not perfect. Try the trick where you increase the pixel dimensions 10% at a time in Photoshop until it's over 200 PPI - that's not perfect and of course it doesn't add information but it makes the print look a bit better than if you just printed it.</p>

<p>I just got in a 30x40 print back from the printer yesterday shot with an 8MP Rebel XT and good lens and it is spectacular, even up close. I resized it using Genuine Fractals and the guy that prints my pictures probably made some adjustments of his own before printing. You should be fine printing that large, especially if it will be viewed from a few feet away and it is a good clean image.</p>

<p>I have several 60x90's from my D70 and D200 and they are great.</p>

<p>Hey Jason, Hans,<br>

Did you use the same technique to get the prints that large? Meaning 10% increase at a time on Photoshop?<br>

I mean how did you accomplish that with 8 or 10MP?</p>

<p>Print quality is subjective, what seems perefect to some people might be garbage to others. There is no answer, you have to try it for yorslef and see if you like it or not. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>30x45 in inches or cm? In the former you need to stand a bare minimum 6 feet from the print for it to look good, in the latter it's easier, maybe 3 feet. Up close it will not look good, so don't look at it up close. The 10% thing is IMO more a matter of faith than actual improvement, the algorithm used to resize has a far bigger impact.</p>

<p>A portrait or even a landscape printed that size it may look OK at a distance but group pictures are very demanding since the first thing anyone does it look at the detail peoples faces which will be very small already and people WILL be looking at the print close up meaning it is very taxing on image quality. If the people are borderline unrecognisable or their expressions are a blurry mess it will not be a successful picture, this is why big groups were usually shot with a view camera and wedding photographers used medium format on a tripod.</p>

<p>Whether or not you can get away with your D200 really hinges on how many people this group will be made up of. The more people, the smaller they are in the picture and the closer people will look meaning a greater demand on quality.</p>

<p>Do a test. Set up you camera with someone in the frame that approximately corresponds to the size they would be if the whole group was there (preferably near the edge, lenses perform worst here). Shoot, process raw file, upres to 30x45 and then crop around the person. Then print this section out (the crop saves you massive prints costs!) and you have a very good idea of what an indiviual person will look like in your print. It get an idea of viewing distance, stick it on a wall and put some tape up showing the full 30x45 size.<br>

<br /> If this is important (and especially if paid!) and your D200 can't cut it, rent a 20+ MP DSLR, a top notch prime and a rock solid tripod, use mirror lockup and the lens stopped down to be sure everyone is in focus.</p>

<p>Since you'll probably be sending the image out for printing, the business I use always upsizes the image before making large prints. I've done large canvas prints (3 ft. on the long side) from 10.2 MP images, and they are beautifully sharp at two to three feet viewing distance.</p>

<p>Like Robbie and some others, I don't think that you are going to have a problem. I have 24x30s cropped from Fuji S2 files and they look great. It is about the post processing though. <br>

The first thing that I would do is talk to the lab that you are going to use and ask them what they want in the file. You can also run some tests. You don't have to make large prints. You can size up a file, by whatever method that you plan to use and then crop an 8x10 out of it and take that to your lab and explain what you are trying to do. <br>

In the end, don't sweat this end of it. Go out and get the shot. If you are worrying about the printing, you are not paying attention to the client.<br>

Ed</p>

<p>Wow, thank you so much for all your responses!<br>

What is Mirror lock-up?</p>

<p>30x45 cm shouldn't be a problem. Inches are another matter. That is a size appropriate to large format, or medium format in a pinch, if your reputation matters. Assume that any print hanging on a wall will be subject to close examination. Use the right tools for the job or decline the work.</p>

<p>Mirror lock up is when you release the mirror (the viewfinder goes dark) and then release the shutter a few seconds later. The idea is that the mirror causes the camera to vibrate and can cause unsharp pictures. Releasing the mirror early allows these vibrations to die down before the shutter is opened.<br>

I doubt that this will be an issue for you doing portrait work. Your shutter speeds should be plenty fast enough to avoid this form of unsharp image. <br>

Ed</p>

<p>If, for some reason, you can't borrow or rent a camera with more resolution, you might try doing a multi-shot image and then stitching the shots together with panorama software. Four images shot in portrait mode, in rapid succession and with appropriate overlap, ought to give you plenty of resolution, and if you do several rounds of this you ought to be able to create one where everyone's eyes are open, etc.</p>

<p>David, have you tried stitching with groups? I've always been interested if it is possible but figured that though the blending is OK for landscapes atc. for small faces if would make a mess with lots of manual retouching.</p>

<p>Annie Leibowitz has done stitching with groups, but Annie Leibowitz also has access to somewhat better resources than most of use here ;-)<br /> It's an interesting technique but definitely not for trying out first time on a paid shoot.<br>

As Edward says, if it's inches and if there is any chance that the print will be examined up close then the results will just not be good enough.</p>