Aspect ratio and printing

Is there some sort of mask (like a focus screen) that allows you to view actual 'hard copy print size' of the image in your viewfinder or LCD depending on what aspect ratio your camera is configured for? For some reason I was under the impression that whatever you saw in the viewfinder or LCD would be printable and composed my images in that manner. Man was I ever surprised when I went to print something, especially something larger than 8x10. I realize you can print on a larger paper and have a large white frame around it.

 

Regards ...

You don't say what sort of camera you have, but replacement focusing screens used to be available that had extra frame lines for different print sizes. If your SLR's screen is removable you could try adding such lines yourself.

 

As for the LCD, you could try marking the frames on a removable screen protector.

I'm a little confused by the question. Most printing is done at about 300 pixel per inch, although you can drop below that some of the time. If you take the pixel dimensions of your image coming out of the camera and divide each side by 300, it tells you how large you can print without interpolating. For example my D800 at 36 MP puts out an image that is 7360X4912 pixels, or about 24.5X16.3 inches at native resolution.

Now, in photoshop Adobe Camera Raw or other software programs I can "develop" that to be smaller or interpolate that up at least 1.5 times larger with good result.

On my computer screen looking at a magnification of about 33% is about print size. I never think about print size when looking through the viewfinder or at the LCD display on the camera.

I don't think he's talking about not be able to print large because he doesn't have enough resolution. He's talking about the images being cropped when printed to "standard" sizes.

 

You can print large without the image being cropped. If you have a DSLR with 2:3 aspect ratio, then print 8 x 12, 10 x 15, 12 x 18, 20 x 30, etc., all which are 2:3. Most printing companies offer those sizes. Sometimes framing can be an issue, though.

If you use mpix.com to print your photos, they show you the edges and where it will get cropped for each size you choose. You can move the image within the frame to get more of what you want in the print.

In most editing software, you can use a crop tool to see how much is there and what the image will look like cropped to whatever size you choose.

Most 35mm-size cameras will print close to full frame on an 8x12 rather than 8x10. It's mostly experience that will let you figure out what will show and what won't when composing in the viewfinder. I'm one of those who makes sure everything I want is in the frame, but I don't lock myself in to printing the full image. In the darkroom, I print to whatever ratio I find appealing for that image and cut my own mats to make them fit a normal frame.

. . . For some reason I was under the impression that whatever you saw in the viewfinder or LCD would be printable and composed my images in that manner.

 

I also am a bit confused by the question - the clause that I underlined makes me think that James might (also) be referring to the fact that the Viewfinder does not show 100% of the captured image. <br><br>

 

In any case, The Katz Eye Viewfinder Grids (link above) are useful, but for example, one is for 10 x 8 and another is for 7x5,yet a third for Square Format, so I expect one would have to choose the most used Aspect Ratio, or be spending a lot of time changing the screen (which is NOT an 'on the run' task. <br><br>

 

I have used one Katz Eye Product, the focusing screen for an EOS 20D, it is a good, useful product and I suspect that the grid screens are just as good quality, but I think that you need to assess whether it would be less expensive and also quicker if you simply learn how much extra, on the long or short side, that you need to keep in the frame to allow cropping/printing to a variety of different Aspect Ratios, later. <br><br>

 

Grid patterns on Ground Glass Screen for Medium and Large Format Cameras are quite commonly used, but like bethe fisher mentioned above, when using the smaller format DSLRs, with a viewfinder, I am one who tends to always shoot a bit wide, allowing me to crop to a range of various Aspect Ratio in Post-production. <br><br>

 

WW

I am not aware of LCD masks limiting visible pixels to aspect ratios, or similar for whatever kind of viewfinder you have. - IMHO it makes very little sense. - Usually images are only limited in one dimension, like the width of the paper roll in your inkjet or X columns of a newspaper.

Anyhow: you can set aspect ratios in somewhat recent Fuji cameras maybe in others too and I'd hope that will limit the size of the previewable image. But I recommend shooting all the pixels you have at hand and cropping in post processing. usually photography is less planned and what was intended for a square print might end on a wide screen?

James,

If you do the math H/V for your camera film format, and for the various standard paper formats, you will see that most papers do NOT match the film format. And there are several different paper formats, so if it fits one format, it won't fit another.

35mm film is 24x36 or 1:1.5 (ratio is similar for many digital cameras)

• 11x14 paper is 1:1.27
   
  
• 8x10 paper is 1:1.25
  
• 5x7 paper is 1:1.4
  

What you can do, is as Bethe said, to have the print made FULL FRAME.

This is usually a custom print, but most good printers will be able to do this, especially as you go up in size.

Unless the print is trimmed, the print will have a lot of extra white space where the image did not fit the paper.

Then it is up to you or the framer to trim the print when you frame the print.

Seems to be a combination of factors possibly. A lot of viewfinders are not 100% and hence may not show the exact image/framing. LCDs however, should show the exact crop of the image, and that would be the same image as could be printed.

 

Aspect ratio on the camera depends on the camera. Most compacts and m4/3rd cameras default to 4:3 (with often selectable other aspect ratios); SLRs, 35mm film and most mirrorless digital systems that aren't m4/3rd are 3:2 aspect ratio. Smartphones often 16:9.

Aspect ratios for prints depend on the paper, if you use a (online) print service, very often there is a choice between 4:3 (i.e. 10x13 prints) and 3:2 (i.e. 10x15 prints). If you select a "wrong" aspect ratio, indeed the image will be cropped or white bars.

 

So a first step is to know which aspect ratio your camera shoots, and next select matching paper sizes when printing.

Looks like I have my notifications turned off. <duh> I figured this would be a pretty strange question, Oh'well. I've been shooting since the 60's but rarely printed anything. When I did they were slides or medium format proof sheets. I shot Nikon and Canon 35mm and medium format (Pentax 6x7, 67). Anyway the cameras I have nowadays digital wise are; an old Canon ID Mark II, Panasonic GH1, GH3 (4:3), Fujifilm X100, Nikon D700. My kids have been bugging me forever for some prints and the reason for the small gallery I setup below. I usually ignore them but finally broke down. In all these years I've never thought about how the images would be cropped since I rarely made hard copies of anything.<BR><BR>

 

https://squattingdog.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/ <BR><BR>

I've always framed and composed my shots in the camera's viewport or LCD as I would want them printed. It never even entered my mind what size I 'actually' wanted them 'someday' to be printed while shooting. Of course the aspect ratio of the particular camera wasn't considered as well. I suppose my logic was if I were to sit down and compose and paint a landscape (or whatever) I wouldn't paint the scene I wanted to convey and then crop it sometime in the future. Now that I know that's incorrect I was simply wondering if some sort of camera crop window existed. I have the Katz focus screen on my D700 and on other cameras I've owned in the past, especially since I have a lot of old quality glass. <BR><BR>

 

Regards,

-JW:

The first thing you have to ask your kids is, "What size prints do you want?" Your full frame Canon ID X Mark II camera gives you the same 36 x 24mm (3:2) "negative" as your 35mm film cameras did. 4 x 6 inch paper would be a bit small. The next normal paper. 8 x 10 would mean that you have have to crop one inch off of each side or else print on 8 x 12 paper. Are 8x12 prints large enough for them? If they want larger you could print at 12 x 18 on 16 x 20 paper and cut out the photo at 12 x 18 or else present them the 16 x 20 paper with the 12 x 18 inch photo having a two inch and one inch border around the photo, sort of like an over mat. <BR><BR>

 

Most art supply stores have various size aluminum frame legs that can be put together for unusual size frames (two 12inch legs and two 18 inch legs for instance. Do they expect you to give them a finished product, framed, mounted and over matted, or just hand them some prints and say, "Here you go."

I had no trouble finding 8 X 12 frames online. But I prefer to print 10 X 15 on 11 X 17 paper, then mat and frame in a 16 X 20 frame, leaving a 2 - 2-1/2" white mat all around the image. Unless you want your pictures to look like snapshots, don't frame in the same size as the image. Always leave white space around the image. And if you are using a frame with glass or plastic, use a window mat to keep the print from contacting the glass.