resizing photos

[Paul Kleiner]

I want to start entering contests, and I see that ther are requirements that thae photos be sized a certain way, i.e.: " the long side must be 21 inches at a resolution of 72 dpi". In PSE 6 I can resize in ppi, not dpi. Are these to be considered the same?
Then, when I set the photo at 72 ppi, its not 21 inches long. When I set it at 21 inches, it`s no longer 72 ppi.
What am I missing here?
I really appreciate your help!!
Paul Kleiner

[gldiana]

Hi,

I find it very unusual for a photo contest to give a size in inches, also considering that a side of 21 inches is huge. Usually the requirements are 72 dpi (pretty standard quality (low) for email transmission) and the size measured in pixels.
Could you please point to the page with those requirements or copy & paste the whole text?

DPI: Dots Per Inch (number of PRINTED dots in an inch, varies by printer)
PPI: Points Per Inch (number of pixels in a digital image, same for every computer)

Can of Worms: Open :)

[Paul Kleiner]

Hi, and thanks for posting. Below is part of the requirements for this particular competition ( which is far over my level of competency!)
I`ve seen others that also specify size, but there were smaller than this .
Anyway, I dug into my manual for PSE 6 and got the answer--in the resizing dialog box, click the "resampling" box. Then you can make it any PPI and size you want.
Only thing unclear is the usage of PPI and DPI. I.e., in my HP printing software, both are used to describe resolution.
Thanks for your help'
Paul Kleiner


First Book Prize Overview

Guidelines

Application Materials

Frequently Asked Questions

Biennial Winners: 2003 | 2005 | 2007

Announcement: Mary Ellen Mark to Judge 2008 Competition



Application Materials

Submissions should include, in this order:

• Application form (44 kb)

• Entry fee of $35 made payable to CDS / Honickman First Book Prize

• Self-addressed, stamped postcard for notification of receipt of materials

• Forty images submitted digitally on cd, drawn from an ongoing or recently completed project, which represent a coherent body of work suitable for publication. At least twenty of these images must have been made within the last three years (after 2004). Those who submitted work in the last competition must be sure to include at least twenty new images in their application.

Images can originate in any format, but must be submitted digitally on cd. (No e-mail submission of images will be accepted). Images should be in jpeg format, saved at the highest jpeg setting, and sized at 72 dpi with the longest side of the image set at 21 inches. Each jpeg should be titled in this order: photographer's last name, photographer's first name (abbreviated as needed), and image number—for example, doe_john_01.jpg. Color images should be in RGB Color mode. Compact disc and case must be clearly labeled with the photographer's full name.

[Paul Kleiner]

When I say that PPI and DPI are not clear, I actually mean that it seems odd to me that a contest would have a requirement for DPI, since that wouild be set on their printer, not mine....right? I can only set PPI. So it seems the terms are used loosely.
Paul

[gldiana]

Hi,

no actually the DPI is set at the moment of resize, 72 is the DPI. It pretty much means that the print will be low quality, with a 300 or 600 DPI the print will be high quality, on the screen it makes little difference but the quality is reduced at the time of printing. The 21 inch requirement baffles me, there's a chance it might have been worded improperly and it might mean 21" max size. I would send them an email asking for clarifications.

[Paul Kleiner]

Thanks, Luca
Paul

[gldiana]

Welcome!

Let me know how goes.

[Southern Wolf]

also make sure its not just some image grab scheme... make sure they dont say you loose all rights to the images. ALOT of folks are trying this nowdays.... so they can get alot of images to choose from.. for whatever they want.

[Paul Kleiner]

Thanks--it`s a good idea to be cautious. We don`t want to give it away!
Paul

[gldiana]

Thanks for pointing that out, Kevin.
A few months ago I bought a magazine just because I liked the submission pages and seemed like I had a good chance of seeing my work on print. I read the (very) small print and it said that by submitting I would lose all rights to the image and its ownership. And I'm supposed to give away my best photos? Needless to say I put it away and never bought another copy.

[tortuga]

Excuse me for being a little late here but I think I can add something if I'm not too late.

What they are saying, in a complicated way is that your image needs to be at least 1512 pixels on the longest dimension. (72x21)

This is really a pretty low rez image for a contest.

DPI really means nothing without specifying inches or pixels, so they give you inches. They could have said to give them an image that was 144DPI and the long side set to 10.5 inches and they would want the exact same thing. What you don't want to do is resample your image unless you absolutely have to. So try to keep that box unchecked!

I know this is one of the hardest things for beginners to understand, but trust me, I have been through this many times.

As to the contest. It sounds like one of those, "if you win you get to buy the book" contests. Be careful.

[gldiana]

I get to buy a book, too? Cool!

LOL

Good clarification, Mike. Never too late.

[Paul Kleiner]

Sorry to be MIA--I`ve been on vacation in Northern Michigan, taking photos of course. Thanks for the input Tortuga--every little bit helps!
But one thing I`m still not clear on--when DPI is specified, do I use that as PPI in resizing?
Paul

[tortuga]

But one thing I`m still not clear on--when DPI is specified, do I use that as PPI in resizing?
Paul

What I am saying is that if your image is 1512 pixels or more on the long side, you are done! It doesn't matter what the PPI says.

If your image is less than 1512 pixels on the long side, it is too small and will have to be up-sampled.

If you have resample un-checked on your resize dialog window, you can change the ppi and it will change nothing except to tell you what size the print will be at that resolution. At that point, it is a calculator. If it makes you feel better, you can put in the resolution (DPI) they asked for and it will be saved with the image but it won't really change anything as long as the resample box is unchecked. That's a good thing. They won't care if there are more pixels than they asked for, just not less. If there are more pixels than they want it will print the same.

And yes each pixel on the computer becomes a dot on the printer, so in that way they are the same thing.

[Paul Kleiner]

Thanks so much Tortuga! It`s starting to make sense to me now. Very useful info. : ))
Paul