I do not understand cropping & resizing. Going insane!

[denise_unsworth]

<p>I am trying to understand/learn how to crop and resize images for my e-commerce website but to no avail. I am taking 2-3 full-length shots of clothing on a mannequin and then moving in closer to take a full picture of the blouse and then even closer to capture any details there might be on the material. I have access to Lightroom & photoshop and have tried different resizing programs online. Obviously, I am doing something wrong but don't know what it is. I am totally lost! <br>

When I crop the full-length shots they become larger and not as sharp. Meanwhile, sometimes my distance from the mannequin for the full-length shot is different even though I do my best to stay in the same spot. (should I try to shoot the same distance from the mannequin every time?) Do I need to drop at the same size?<br>

<br />When I take the shots of the blouse at different angles some of the photos are larger than the others which then need cropping, in turn making them larger than the others. Advice? .....<br>

and then when I take pictures of details in the material the photos are huge!</p>

<p>How do I make different sized photos taken at different distances all the same size and presentable for an e-commerce website?<br>

<br />Also, if I shoot in RAW how do save the photo's for website use without them becoming pixelated?<br>

<br />Any help or wisdom would be great!!!</p>

 

[Karim Ghantous]

<p>There's a lot there to sort out. I'm not 100% sure what you mean here:</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>Meanwhile, sometimes my distance from the mannequin for the full-length shot is different even though I do my best to stay in the same spot. (should I try to shoot the same distance from the mannequin every time?) Do I need to drop at the same size?</p>

</blockquote>

<p> <br>

Anyway, let's see if anything I suggest is helpful...<br>

<br>

The most important thing to start with is establishing an aspect ratio for images in a given set. Let's say it's 4:3, for the purposes of this discussion. So your final images might be 400 x 300, or 1,600 x 1,200. And so on.<br>

<br>

Your camera might already have a sensor of these dimensions. Or it might have a sensor with a 3:2 aspect, which is equal to 450 x 300, or 1,800 x 1,200, and so on. Note that 3:2 is wider than 4:3.<br>

<br>

What I recommend you do is download a free trial of a RAW converter. There are a few available, and all of them let you crop images to a fixed aspect ratio, whether it's 4:3 or 3:2. And you can orient the crops either vertically or horizontally.<br>

<br>

So let's say you have ten images in a set. You shot them with a camera that outputs 3:2, and you kept your camera horizontal for every shot. Whether they are RAW or JPEG, that doesn't matter, as the software reads both. So now you import them into your RAW converter.<br>

<br>

What you want to do is crop every shot to 4:3 (remember, this is just for argument's sake). Some crops will be more extreme than others, and some crops will only cut off the left and right sides of the image (3:2 is wider than 4:3).<br>

<br>

Okay, are you still with me? Select the image which you cropped the most. There are probably a couple, but let's assume you know which one has been cropped the most. Export it to JPEG, without resizing it. If you original file is 2,100 x 1,400 (3:2), and you cropped tightly, your final image might be 400 x 300. That's a very tight crop. But if 400 x 300 is acceptable for the web site, your next step is easy.<br>

<br>

So now you select all the images and export them all to JPEG, and you resize them all to 400 x 300. The file that is already 400 x 300 won't be made smaller, but the other files will be scaled down to match it. So now all your images in that set are the same aspect ratio and the same dimension.<br>

<br>

I hope that helped to clarify a few concepts. But there isn't much I can do from here. I think you should ask a friend to give you a little help in person. It's much easier to show you face-to-face than to explain it.</p>

[William Michael]

<p>Perhaps you could provide a <strong>LINK</strong> to a full resolution image which is causing you concern.</p>

<p>Perhaps there are issues with you technique/skills/experience which are resulting in a less than acceptable quality image file and that is where you major difficulties begin.</p>

<p>It is always best to begin, at the beginning - and then seek to practice "best practice".</p>

<p>WW </p>

[James G. Dainis]

You should just crop in camera. I don't know what camera you have but let us suppose it is a 12MP camera that takes 4000x3000 pixel photos at max resolution. Stand back and take full length shot. You now have a 4000x3000 pixel full length image. Step closer or zoom in and take a head to waist shot. you now have a 4000x3000 pixel head to waist shot. Step closer or zoom in more and take a photo of the material. You now have a 4000x3000 pixel photo of material detail.<P>

 

To summarize, you now have<P>

 

4000x3000 pixel full length image (4000 pixels wide by 3000 pixels high)<BR>

4000x3000 pixel head to waist image<BR>

4000x3000 pixel material detail<P>

 

Those would be far too big to use on your web page, many computer screens are only about 1200 pixels wide. So you use your image editing to resize the images. You could make them 400x300 pixels. That would be about 1/3rd the width of a computer screen. Or make them 600 x 450 pixels about 1/2 the width of a screen or just mix and match any sizes you want.

[bethe_fisher]

<p>When you say the images get larger and less sharp, they are likely just being shown taking up more of your screen - the actual image is not larger. In Photoshop, the "view" pulldown gives you options of actual pixels, fill the screen, and other choices. After you resize an image, Photoshop will sometimes show it in a different amount of the screen than it was before. Make sure you check the view menu to keep it the same.</p>

[AlanKlein]

<p>You need live help from someone with experience in shooting pictures cropping and working with Lightroom or other programs and how to post pictures on the web. They should walk you through it. Good luck and lots of success in your business.</p>

[kim_johnson1]

<p>If I understand you correctly, you need a particular image dimension of online purposes and you want them uniform. In PS. Just use the crop tool setting. You can either make a preset or doing on the fly at the top. When you selection the crop tool, you can tell it to crop to 400px x 600px for example. Regardless of the image size, the crop will be that dimension. Just know the exact size you need. If you crop it too small and then try to upsize it, it will be distorted.<br /><img src="http://i1053.photobucket.com/albums/s464/kjonbz/croppreset_zpsqxi6k474.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="1024" /></p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>You should use the full size image from the camera. Crop them first so that they contain just what you want. Then you resize them to the size you want.<br>

What I am trying to say it I can fairly safely assume that you camera can take images of 16MP at least. The final images to be posted on the website I can also assume that they are less than 2MP. So crop first and even after the crop I think all of them are still larger than 2MP. Then resize to the size needed on the website. If you use a monitor of no higher resolution than 1920x1080 you can't see any pixelated affect doing this.</p>

[James G. Dainis]

I think you may be using "cropping" and "resizing" interchangeably as meaning the same thing. They do not. Resizing means to change the size of an image while keeping everything in the image Cropping means to take an image and cut some of it out like you would do with a pair of scissors. Why bother to crop? If you want a fill size image of the clothing, step back and take a full size image, one that fills the viewfinder of the camera. If you want a head to waist image then step closer and take a head to waist image one in which the head to waist view fills the viewfinder of the camera.

 

Now you take the full length image and head to waist image and resize them to a size that will fit nicely on your web page. For vertical shots I would suggest not more than 400 pixels wide but you can try it and see.

[denise_unsworth]

<p>wow! thank you all for your detailed explanations and help. Now I have a better understanding of it all. I am very grateful!!!! Thank you KIM, for doing that :-)<br>

So I should shoot in RAW and use a RAW converter? I tried that before but the images became pixelated when I zoomed in a bit (I was testing zooming in as it's one of the features enabled in my store for the purpose of the customer being able to slightly magnify the garment)<br>

Another quick question: I am using a Nikon D3100 with a 35mm lens and the 18-55mm and 4 mono-lights. What camera upgrade would make a difference in overall picture quality or does it really matter? The camera would only be for my business purpose. I understand it's not about the equipment as much as it is about the technique used but I was just curious.</p>

<p> </p>

[denise_unsworth]

<p>Thank you, James. Wouldn't I have to be the same distance away from the mannequin for each type of shot to avoid cropping? I use a white vinyl background so I can blow out the back for a clean white look. The problem is I didn't take perspective into consideration when I purchased the vinyl as it's only 5ft wide. So when I bring the mannequin forward some 8ft from the wall I find that a full-length shot gets the edges of the vinyl and the wall it's attached to. I know I am doing something wrong that could be made a lot easier. I have tried moving the mannequin closer to the wall but the power the mono lights use to blow out the back spills over the subject.</p>

[James G. Dainis]

<I>Wouldn't I have to be the same distance away from the mannequin for each type of shot to avoid cropping? </I><P>

 

If you were the same distance away for each shot then each shot would be the same unless you mean to take a full length shot and then zoom in to take a head to waist shot. It would be the same if you were to use the same lens setting and move in closer to fill the viewfinder for the head to waist shot. I would move in closer. Having the mannequin 8 feet from the wall and you maybe 5 or 6 feet from the mannequin with a 35mm lens or 35mm set on the 18-55mm lens means you may get some of the vinyl edge showing in the back ground on full length vertical shots. Maybe some or maybe none. It should be close <P>

 

A full length max resolution shot with your camera would be a vertical of the mannequin at 3072 pixels wide by 4608 pixels high. The vinyl edge may be showing so you would now have to crop the image to perhaps 1500 pixels wide by 4608 pixels high. Then you could resize it for your webpage to perhaps 300 pixels wide by 922 pixels high.<P>

 

The D3100 camera and lenses you now have should be very good for what you are trying to do.

[denise_unsworth]

<p>Great! thank you James. I think I have a grasp on it now :-) So, it wouldn't make any difference in image quality if I was to say buy a Nikon D800?</p>

[James G. Dainis]

I doubt very much if it will make any difference in the image quality for the small size picture you will show on your web page. Why spend about $3,000 to get a camera that will deliver a huge 7360 x 4912 image that will only have to reduced down to maybe 740 x 500 for viewing on a computer monitor that is maybe 1200 to 1600 pixels wide.

 

7300 x 4900 is good for people who want to make large prints, Printed at 300 ppi that will give a 24 x 16 inch print.

[denise_unsworth]

<p>well, that cleared that up. I was just wondering why people had suggested to me about buying a Nikon D700 for better resolution of fabrics and garments.</p>

[jcuknz]

<p>You can use a ten year old P&S camera for all the difference gear makes. Likewise I never use RAW and can do all the work with a free editor Paint dot Net.<br>

Way back when most people had small screens and a 800 pixel across by 600 pixel height was what it showed so you find Photonet here sticks to a maximum dimension of 700 pixels.<br>

If you want sharp images then last thing you do is apply some sharpening to the file.<br>

If you want a close shot of the material then take a close shot, your camera will do that for you ... but as James said you end up with a file 4600x3000 pixels and this then needs to be resized and saved as a separate file from the camera file at a smaller pixel size for web use.*<br>

A further refinement to help pictures load quicker is cutting down on the file size as for web use you will find a 100kb file size is perfectly adequate. P.N will do that calls it resamplingand Photoshop does this by giving you a slider and displays the file size result<br>

*A key point here is NEVER use the 'save' command which writes the small new file over the camera file and destroys it so ALWAYS use 'Save AS' which prompts you for more info and here you can simply add a single character to the file name and it becomes a safe and separate file for web use from the irreplaceable camera file .... I add the letter W to indicate a web use file :)</p>