Cropping Aspect Ratio 1.5 to 1.25, then resizing--without changing the subject's scale

[reish_lakish]

<p>Apologies if this has been answered. I'm not even sure of what to search on. <a href="../search/?cx=000753226439295166877%3A0gyn0h9z85o&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=Cropping+image+quality+inurl%3A%2Fdigital-darkroom-forum%2F+inurl%3A%2Fdigital-darkroom-forum%2F&qx=Cropping+image+quality+inurl%3A%2Fdigital-darkroom-forum%2F&sa=Search+This+Forum">These posts related to cropping or resizing and maintaining resolution</a>, while informative, did not quite hit the problem.</p>

<p><strong>What I've got: </strong>a slew of images w/ pixel dimension: 2912 x 4378; and doc dimension (inches) 9.707 x 14.593 (aspect ratio 1.5)<br>

<strong>What I need:</strong><br>

<strong><br /></strong></p>

<ul>

<li>to crop these images, or resize each canvas, so that the images have a doc dimension = 8x10 (aspect ratio 1.25) for print. Resolution must be a least 300ppi.</li>

</ul>

 

<ul>

<li>to create a batch of copies, each with pixel dimension = 800 x 1000 for screens. </li>

</ul>

 

<ul>

<li>the <em><strong>scale</strong></em> (for lack of a better word) of the subject in each image (a tree) <strong>must</strong> match the scale of the original, uncropped image.</li>

</ul>

<p><strong>The problem: </strong>When cropping/resizing, <strong>each tree gets a tad enlarged</strong>, impacting quality. Methods <strong>tried in Photoshop</strong>:</p>

<ul>

<li>Using the crop tool;</li>

<li>Using select--all > transform selection, then image > crop;</li>

<li>Resizing the canvas. </li>

</ul>

<p><strong>When resizing the originals to 800 x 1000,</strong> I've tried resampling on and off. I've also tried resizing by changing the resolution of the smaller copies from 300 to 100, which--from the cropped original (now 2400 x 3000 pixels) returns the required pixel dimensions = 800 x 1000 required for the screen versions.</p>

<p><strong>In each case,</strong> the result is a properly sized image with a slightly larger, improperly scaled tree; and with image quality impacted enough that more sharpening and retoning is needed.</p>

<p>I apologize for the long-winded explanation and the lack of precision in describing the problem. Not an easy thing to describe. I'm guessing this problem has been licked before. I'm grateful for ideas, workarounds or links to possible solutions.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance-</p>

[jcuknz]

<p>I'm not sure if I can follow your explanation of your problem but make three comments.<br>

If you change the aspect ratio of the picture you will change the appearance of subjects in the picture. Likewise of you crop the proportion of a subject like a tree to the rest of the picture will change.<br>

If you want to maintain the ppi/dpi [iQ] then that figure needs to be entered first before you enter the print size ... I assume resampling is what I call interpolating.<br>

Sharpening is usually the last thing one does and often needed if you make major changes to an already sharpened image.</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>If you have Photoshop CS5, you might be able to do it with Content Aware Scaling. Go to Photoshop HELP and query "Content-aware Scaling" for instructions.</p>

[rogleale]

<p>These problems of ratios!<br>

The point is Reish if you crop an image to a different ratio, the size of all the elements in that image will change relative to the outside dimensions - will normally be enlarged. As Brooks said the only way around this is to add some image area by content aware filling to enlarge the image in width.<br>

Forget the dpi/ppi until you have cropped, irrelevant.<br>

Ignore the change of size in the image which will be in width only. The image quality should not be affected.<br>

The easiest solution for cropping is to set the CS crop tool to 8in x 10in at 300ppi.<br>

Crop the image. Resize copies as required.<br>

Roger</p>

<p> </p>

[bgelfand]

<p>Hi Roger,</p>

<p>Content-aware Scaling is different than Content-aware filling. With Content-aware Scaling, the size of all elements does not change with scaling. From the CS5 Help File:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>"Content-Aware Scale resizes an image without changing important visual content such as people, buildings, animals, and so forth. While normal scaling affects all pixels uniformly when resizing an image, content-aware scaling mostly affects pixels in areas that don’t have important visual content."</p>

</blockquote>

<p> </p>

[reish_lakish]

<p>Thanks all. (And sorry for my late reply & thanks. Crowded week.) This is incredibly helpful in getting me up and over a rather steep learning curve. I'm grateful.</p>

<p>@JC and Brooks, you open a new door for me (each with a different tool) and Roger, I think you helped me nail the problem.</p>

<p>Again, grateful. Best for the weekend-</p>