This article over at Craftsy is useful for anyone who wants to print their digital images.
Learn about aspect ratio (do you know what aspect ratio you’re shooting in?) as well as cropping for different size prints. And don’t forget to make sure your photos are sharp enough for printing!
Cropping can be an incredibly useful tool for your photography, and it is one that is often necessary if you are planning on printing your images. This post will explain aspect ratio and when you will need to crop to match your finished print size.
Cropping and aspect ratio
Before you begin cropping your photographs, you need to understand aspect ratio. Aspect ratio is a comparison of the length and width of your image. For most DSLR digital cameras, that ratio is 2:3. For most point-and-shoot and phone cameras, that ratio is 3:4. Shooting in a square is an aspect ratio of 1:1.
If you do not already know the aspect ratio that you are shooting in, look at the height and width of one of your photographs in pixels and divide the height by the width. My camera records images that are 3648 by 5472 pixels, which is 0.667, for an aspect ratio of 2:3.
You need to know aspect ratio because different print sizes also have different aspect ratios. If you are shooting at 2:3 and want to print your photograph as a 4 x 6 inch print, then your printed image will exactly match your original photograph. But, if you want to print an 8 x 10 inch print, you will have to crop your image to match a different aspect ratio, 4:5.
Read the full article over at Craftsy.
Source: Craftsy
