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Re-Sizing
Images for BSoUP digital competitions
by Alex Mustard
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There are
many brands of digital image manipulation software on the
market, and within each program there are usually a number
of ways of achieving a particular effect. Here I will describe
how to use resize images in Photoshop using the "IMAGE
SIZE" tool within the IMAGE menu (this is a one step
process and is available in all versions of Photoshop).
The resolution
of the BSoUP digital projector is 1024 by 768 pixels, and
we must adjust our images to this size for optimal projection.
This is actually a low resolution for a digital image (less
than one Megapixel) so resizing for projection reduces the
resolution of our original image.
The projected
area from the digital projector (like a computer screen) is
wider (1024 pixels) than it is high (768 pixels).
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This
means that horizontal images will be projected larger than vertical
images. You may wish to consider this when selecting your images.
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1. Focus On Competitions
You should
start with an image larger than 1024 by 768 pixels (all digital
camera and scanned images should easily exceed this size).
Open the
image in Photoshop and crop if required. Then go to the IMAGE
menu and open the IMAGE SIZE tool.
First ensure
that the TWO options (Constrain Proportions and Resample Image)
at the bottom of this box are checked. Then go to box labelled
"Resolution" (at the bottom of the 5 boxes) and
change the value to 72 pixels/inch.
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DO
NOT click OK and immediately go to the "Pixel Dimension"
boxes (the top two boxes). If your image is a vertical you must
change the value in the "Height" box to 768 pixels.
If your image is horizontal you must change the value in the
"Width" box to 1024 pixels. (If you have cropped a
horizontal image to a square format make sure that both the
width and height values are equal to or less than 1024 and 768
pixels, respectively.)
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IT DOES
NOT MATTER IF THE VALUE IN THE OTHER PIXEL DIMENSION BOX IS
LESS THAN THE PROJECTOR RESOLUTION - it will be for most images.
NOW CLICK
OK!
Save the
image as a JPEG (.jpg) with an image title that includes your
name (e.g. j_smith01.jpg).
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2. Portfolio Competitions
Creating
a digital portfolio is more complicated, and there are many
ways to do it. Here I will suggest one approach. You do not
necessarily need to follow these instructions to the letter as long as you
end up with a portfolio of six images in two rows of three on a black
background that measures 1024 by 768 pixels and is at a resolution
of 72 pixels/inch.
First select
your six images and resize each to 320 pixels in their longest
direction at a resolution of 72 pixels/inch following the
procedure detailed above.
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We have
already prepared a background with guidelines to help you
layout your portfolio. These guidelines are only visible in
Photoshop and will not be visible when you final portfolio
is presented. Download the BSoUP_Grid.jpg
and open in Photoshop. In the VIEW menu select the option
(Snap to> Guides), which means that Photoshop will ensure
that each image is exactly over the crosses in the grid when
you position them.
(Alternatively
you can create a new file (FILE menu, option NEW) with a Width
of 1024 pixels, a Height of 768 pixels and a Resolution of
72 pixel/inch (you are asked for these when creating a new
file). Fill the background of this new file with black (e.g.
EDIT menu, option FILL…, then fill Contents with black at
an Opacity of 100%).)
Now copy
and paste all your images onto the black background and arrange
in two rows. As long as have Snap to Guides selected Photoshop
will ensure that each image is positioned correctly.
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Each image
is in a separate layer and can be moved independently. Once
all the images are arranged correctly flatten the image (LAYER
menu, Flatten Image) and save the image as a JPEG (.jpg) with
an image title that includes your name (e.g. j_smith01.jpg).
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