4x6 to 8x10 ?

I am getting ready for an informal showing of some of my work and am having a problem with print sizes.

I "view" in my mind, and the camera takes images, in the 4x6 format. I am planning on showing 8x10 prints with an 11x14 mat and frame. My problem lies in cropping to the 8x10 size. I have to crop out so much of the 4x6 format and it seems like I lose much of the image and in many of the images I don't like the crop. I know I could crop to 13x19 and keep pretty much the whole image but all the retail printers only do the basic 8x10, 11x14 etc.

I don't make pictures as a business, just for personal hobby, and don't want to spend alot of money to have the "odd" sizes printed.

I guess I'm missing something. Do I have to rethink in 8x10 format? It seems like there is so much lost as it is a more square format rather than rectangle. Help?

DVW wrote in post #11924759
I am getting ready for an informal showing of some of my work and am having a problem with print sizes.

I "view" in my mind, and the camera takes images, in the 4x6 format. I am planning on showing 8x10 prints with an 11x14 mat and frame. My problem lies in cropping to the 8x10 size. I have to crop out so much of the 4x6 format and it seems like I lose much of the image and in many of the images I don't like the crop. I know I could crop to 13x19 and keep pretty much the whole image but all the retail printers only do the basic 8x10, 11x14 etc.

I don't make pictures as a business, just for personal hobby, and don't want to spend alot of money to have the "odd" sizes printed.

I guess I'm missing something. Do I have to rethink in 8x10 format? It seems like there is so much lost as it is a more square format rather than rectangle. Help?

See if they print 8 x 12. Same ratio.

If you are matting and framing, a "standard" pic size could be 11x14 (the internal matte framing) which can fit nicely into a 16x20 frame. To me, that's a better layout for a lot of pics than an 8x10. I'll use an 8x10 aspect ratio for certain things, but don't prefer it for others. And, I'll stick to say a 12x18 print to keep the original aspect ratio.

DVW wrote in post #11924759
I am getting ready for an informal showing of some of my work and am having a problem with print sizes.

I "view" in my mind, and the camera takes images, in the 4x6 format. I am planning on showing 8x10 prints with an 11x14 mat and frame. My problem lies in cropping to the 8x10 size. I have to crop out so much of the 4x6 format and it seems like I lose much of the image and in many of the images I don't like the crop. I know I could crop to 13x19 and keep pretty much the whole image but all the retail printers only do the basic 8x10, 11x14 etc.

I don't make pictures as a business, just for personal hobby, and don't want to spend alot of money to have the "odd" sizes printed.

I guess I'm missing something. Do I have to rethink in 8x10 format? It seems like there is so much lost as it is a more square format rather than rectangle. Help?

You can print them as an 8x12 and not lose anything. In the future, just shoot a little loose so when you crop, you don't lose anything important.

You can print them "full frame" at 8x12, but you'll half to look for 8x12 framing and mattes. They ARE are there.

Thanks for the suggestions. The problem is the local printers such as Walmart, Walgreens, etc print at the standard sizes. I'm sure I would have to pay more than the 2.99 to print in the 8x12 and it would probably have to be from an online lab. Any suggestions on a lab for that size?

I'm with Tony on this. It's what I do.

I print 8 x 12 all the time. If you think you 'need' to print 8 x 10 then you need to shoot for the crop. It other words, you need to capture an image with more to the left and right (or top and bottom) than you really need. I used to do that but then I told people they just need to get __ x __ frames to make it work. There are plenty of frame shops that sell 8 x 12.

ChasP505 wrote in post #11924884
I'm with Tony on this. It's what I do.

That is probably what I will end up doing. I was trying to keep the cost down by going the smaller size.

TGrundvig wrote in post #11924917
I print 8 x 12 all the time. If you think you 'need' to print 8 x 10 then you need to shoot for the crop. It other words, you need to capture an image with more to the left and right (or top and bottom) than you really need. I used to do that but then I told people they just need to get __ x __ frames to make it work. There are plenty of frame shops that sell 8 x 12.

I'll search around for the frame shops also and price compare. Where do you get your images printed at 8x12?

You'll find decent frames and pre-cut mats at your local "Hobby Lobby" type store.

I know that they would have the standard sizes, but don't know if they would have pre cut 8x12's in mat and frames. I'll check on what they have next time I'm near one.

Thanks for all the input everyone.

DVW wrote in post #11924880
Thanks for the suggestions. The problem is the local printers such as Walmart, Walgreens, etc print at the standard sizes. I'm sure I would have to pay more than the 2.99 to print in the 8x12 and it would probably have to be from an online lab. Any suggestions on a lab for that size?

Costco prints 8x12 and they are better than Walmart or Walgreens. In fact, they charge the same amount for 8x12 as they do for 8x10.

krb wrote in post #11925185
Costco prints 8x12 and they are better than Walmart or Walgreens. In fact, they charge the same amount for 8x12 as they do for 8x10.

This is what I do as well.

TGrundvig wrote in post #11924917
I print 8 x 12 all the time. If you think you 'need' to print 8 x 10 then you need to shoot for the crop. It other words, you need to capture an image with more to the left and right (or top and bottom) than you really need. I used to do that but then I told people they just need to get __ x __ frames to make it work. There are plenty of frame shops that sell 8 x 12.

There is a Wolf Camera Print Shop right down the street from my house. I upload the images online, pick the size I want, and they email me when they are ready. Usually just a couple hours or so. There are also a few other print shops here but so far Wolf Camera has done an excellent job for me. I have requested multiple prints of the same print and they always come out identical. I won't buy gear from them to save my life...LOL, but their print prices are very reasonable for the convenience, in my opinion.

There are a lot of people that like Costco as well and they print 8 x 12 and 12 x 18 and even 20 x 30. I know a local nature photog that has Costco print all of his work that he sells and he swears by them. I have never used them, but a lot of people seem to like them.