Questions and hello!

I've just stumbled across this forum and been lurking for a few weeks now.

I'm new to the wedding photography business, and just wanted to thank everyone for all of the helpful information they've posted. I've been reading through nearly all of it and absorbing.

I studied photography in college, and interned for a very good wedding photographer. I finally got the nerve to branch off on my own. After shooting the obligatory free wedding for a friend, I felt confident enough to start searching for paid clients, and shot my first "real" wedding last weekend. I'll post pictures in a bit, I'd love to get some feedback, but first a question:

I shot RAW and then usually look through them in the EOS viewer utility. I'm going to be using Pictage for my orders, and am planning to submit 12x18 pictures as my maximum size. The only problem in that when I extract them with the EOS software, their dimensions are somewhat smaller than that. This isn't really my area of expertise, so I've just been saving them at a high res, then resizing each and every one in Photoshop. Its taking forever, and there's GOT to be a faster way to do this! Can anyone enlighten me?

what camera do u shoot??

Hi Emmy, and welcome.

Don't worry about what size the images appear to be to you, whatever you submit will be printed at the size the customer requests. For 18 inches at 300 dpi you'd need 5400 pixels, the 20D has about 3500 on a side, so some interpolation will be done. It'll still look great, I have 30x20 prints from the 20D that I love.

If you really need to resize them create an action that does it then run it as a batch. The Scott Kelby book "Photoshop CS2 for Photographers" will tell you how, it's easy but there's a few steps.

Thank you Tim. I have a 20D as well, so that information is helpful. I just wanted to make sure to get them big enough so that 12x18 was possible, but didn't want to be sending pictage something the size of a billboard.

I actually have that book in my attic, and should go dig it out. I definitely should have looked at it a long time ago, but dislike reading things without plotlines. I had my camera for almost a year before bothering to go through the manual...

In the first year I read my manual at least 10 times, I learned something new each time. I'd probably still learn something new if I read it again, but i'd probably have to read more carefully.

Yes, that is what I'm finding out. I wish I would have done it a whole lot sooner, its like getting a brand new camera every time I flip the page.