DO NOT read this if you can't promise not to laugh-print size question

Ok, last night I got my first print order (small but official!) and it was for 2 8x10s from an engagement shoot. I uploaded my original large file (both were over 3000pix on large side) to the online company that does my printing, and when I chose the 8x10 size it cropped the original to where some of the image was lost. Obvioulsy I don't know much about sizing, but I thought if you had an original that large you didn't have to worry much about printing size, esp not an 8x10. Is my mistake in not sizing the original to the 8x10 size in PS before uploading it?

The problem is not the size but the shape.

Your camera takes pictures in 2:3 ratio: 4x6, 8x12, 12x18, 16x24

An 8x10 is a 4:5 ratio: 4x5, 8x10, 12x15, 16x20

So....since the shapes are different something is going to get cut off.

Keep your ratio in mind. Your original shot uncropped is 2x3 which equals if you upscale it to 8x12. So basically your image, uncropped is two inches wider on the long end than the print you want to make so some of the original is lost.

Assuming a 300dpi print, your file should have the resolution of 2400x3000. This way you choose the crop and are uploading an image that has the exact dimensions of an 8x10.

The 3 posters above are correct. Now, one of your options to fix the ratio would be to modify the image in PS to have the correct 4x5 ratio. One of the options would be to add a border.

here are some other ideas.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=868617

Ok, I'm at work and have enlisted my co-worker here to help me understand this, and here is the first thing I was asked when I read the replies to her--on the ratio, 2:3 ie, two what to three what? What is being used in the comparison? My answer was length to height. but honestly, I don't even know why I said that.
Aside from not getting the ratio thing, how on earth do you even save an image as a final product since you have no idea what sizes the client may want the prints in? A client goes online to look at their proof gallery, they want a 5x7 of these and 4x6s of those and an 11x14 of this one---how do you factor in all the choices they can make?

You shoot to leave a little room for cropping.

Michelle Brooks Photography wrote in post #10139285
Ok, I'm at work and have enlisted my co-worker here to help me understand this, and here is the first thing I was asked when I read the replies to her--on the ratio, 2:3 ie, two what to three what? What is being used in the comparison? My answer was length to height. but honestly, I don't even know why I said that.
Aside from not getting the ratio thing, how on earth do you even save an image as a final product since you have no idea what sizes the client may want the prints in? A client goes online to look at their proof gallery, they want a 5x7 of these and 4x6s of those and an 11x14 of this one---how do you factor in all the choices they can make?

You don't - you upload the ratio that your camera spits out, because it's most convenient - then when they order something that needs cropping down to a different ratio, you make the call what you need to crop out.

For me, if that involves making a major change, I will always check with the client first. If it's just dead space, I don't.

Then you export and upload *that* file to the company handling your printing.

If they happen to order a 6*4 and an 8*10 of the same picture, you make two versions and upload them both - one cropped, one uncropped.

Perhaps this can help:

http://rfpstudio.smugm​ug.com/photos/85977462​5_56y6V-O.jpg

http://rfpstudio.smugm​ug.com/photos/85977468​4_EEPr2-O.jpg

Most of the photo editing tools that I have used have a crop feature that allows you to choose the aspect ratio of the crop (e.g., 8x10, 5x7). If you use this, it will guarantee that your resulting image is in the right shape. Use that feature so that you can choose the crop, not the printer's computer.

I use a Display Only workflow with Exposure Manager. I upload a small 500x333 image to my EM site. (3:2 aspect ratio) When an order is placed, I get an email with what was ordered notifying me to upload optimized files. (2400x3000 would be an optimized file for an 8x10.) I then custom crop the images ordered to what was ordered and upload the optimized versions. So if they order an 11x14, 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 of the same image, I can uploaded 4 different files that match those exactly. EM saves those optimized files for future orders, so when additional reprints are ordered for one that has already been optimized, I don't have to upload a new one.

I have a question. What if they have a CD of images? How do you know what to do with the file. Do you put one on there that is a 4x6 and one that is a 8x10, ect? Since you don't know what picture they will print out at what size?

Michelle Brooks Photography wrote in post #10139285
Ok, I'm at work and have enlisted my co-worker here to help me understand this, and here is the first thing I was asked when I read the replies to her--on the ratio, 2:3 ie, two what to three what? What is being used in the comparison? My answer was length to height. but honestly, I don't even know why I said that.

An aspect ratio is simply boiling down dimensions to the simplest denominators. It isn't comparing width to height specifically, although you can express it that way if it suits you.

So, a 2:3 aspect ratio (some people boil it down further to "1.5" or 1:1.5) simply means that the longer dimention of your image is 1.5x the shorter dimension. This is the "native" aspect ratio of your DSLR. To figure exactly matching print sizes you just do the math and it will apply whether your picture is in "landscape" or "portrait" orientation. So, a 2:3 image will print a "full bleed" 4x6, 8x12, 12x18 and so on.

What you find, though, is that common print sizes don't have on standard aspect ratio. So you see the 8x10 size a lot, meaning you have to crop your original from an 8x12/2:3 aspect ratio to the 4:5 aspect ratio for the 8x10. Again, portrait and landscape orientation both work the same -- you crop off the longer side.

This is one of the challenges -- how do you delever a shot to a client who may want prints in different sizes? The easiest thing for you is to give them the full-sized files with the disclaimer that they need to have the file properly cropped for the specific print they want.

There are some print sizes that are pretty close in aspect ratio and may do OK with just a print cropped by the printer -- the 4x6 and the 5x7 prints are an example -- a little is cropped from the long dimension but not a lot. In this case, you could just trust the automated process if you have space on both ends to crop without messing up the image. An 8x10, though, takes considerably more off the ends and so would really need you or your client to crop ahead of time.

This all doesn't need to be confusing, once you get the idea and know what you need to do. It is a task, though, to individually crop an image to fit a particular print size/aspect ratio, but I'd rather do that myself than trust an automatic print process that doesn't give a whit about chopping the tops off of a subject's head!

I'd just give them the regular ratio photo off your camera - you can't possibly predict what they will print at in the future - that's up to them to crop to their own needs.