Re-Sizing Images for BSoUP digital competitions

by Alex Mustard
Updated 03/03/07 by JP Trenque to reflect the new projection size

 

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 1400 by 1050 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 (1400 pixels) than it is high (1050 pixels).


This means that horizontal images will be projected larger than vertical images. You may wish to consider this when selecting your images.


 

1. Focus On Competitions

You should start with an image larger than 1400 by 1050 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.

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 1050 pixels. If your image is horizontal you must change the value in the "Width" box to 1400 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 1400 and 1050 pixels, respectively.)

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).

 

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 as long as you end up with a portfolio of six images (2 rows of 3) on a black background, that measures 1400 by 1050 pixels and is at a resolution of 72 pixels/inch.

First select your six images and resize each to 435 pixels in their longest direction at a resolution of 72 pixels/inch following the procedure detailed above.

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_1400x1050.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 1400 pixels, a Height of 1050 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.

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).