Digital Cameras for Teachers
Editing Photos
Cropping and Resizing Photos
Cropping and resizing may be one of the first adjustments you make to your photos, especially if you plan to email or put them on the web. Cropping can help when you print, since you can take out extra material and zero in on the subject of your picture. Resizing can change the dimensions of your picture, and also change the resolution so it is suitable for either printing or using on the Internet.
In the example above, the picture is 6 x 10 at 200 dots per inch. This is not a standard size for photos (3x5, 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 etc.), although the resolution is high enough to print. It is too big for a web page and the resolution is too high for emailing. The picture could use either cropping or resizing to make it the right size and resolution.
Remember the following rule of thumb for picture resolution:
Print photos: 200 dpi
Web photos: 72 dpi
Constrain proportions means that when you resize it, it stays in proportion.
Resample image means that when you change the proportions, the resolution stays the same, and vice versa. If you are resizing an image smaller in order to print it, uncheck the resample image box in order to take advantage of all the resolution available to you. Remember to check the image back again when it is needed!
You may need to rotate your picture to make it stand up straight, and then crop the irregular edges when you are done.
In the example above left, the graduate was photographed against a background including people walking around. It's hard to see his face. So we select the Crop tool, make a box around what we want to keep, and then we hit Enter. You can also use the Marquee tool and then use Image>Crop, if your program has this option.
Digital Cameras for Teachers
EOU Malheur County Center (541) 889-7468 or (541) 889-6222
