Shrink photo to 8x10 without cropping??

[monicaolson]

I have been searching for a day trying to find something to help me out with this. I normally have all the room in the world when I take photos to allow for cropping, but this time I was constrained by a fence and a building and barely got everyone into the shot.

Problem is now every time I'm trying to print on WHCC or Mpix, or even the cheap places, they all crop the photo to where people and kids are getting cut off (it's a Daycare school photo). I can't crop it off, is there a way I can manipulate the image so when it is time to print, everyone is left inside the print lines?

Yes, I know not to just "resize" the image in PS as this distorts it and it reconfigures the image where it's too resolution to even print an 8x10 of it.

I've read about adding white borders around the picture in Photoshop, but no one really explained what or how, everything is just very vague. Thought I would ask for some help or at least point me in the right direction.

Thanks for your help!

[revjvegas]

What software are you looking to do this in?

Just Photoshop, or Lightroom or other?

[monicaolson]

Photoshop

[kenw]

Crop/resize your image to fit the 10" dimension and have the other be less than 8.

Make a new layer that is exactly 8x10 and make it black (or blue, or green, but not white). Paste your image (grey in the example) on top of this new layer, centered as you like. You will have a black, or blue or green but not white border between your image and the frame. It won't be the same all around, but it will be 8x10 overall.

The black area can be used for text if you want. And no, it doesn't have to be black.

[revjvegas]

If the image is already scaled to the 8x10 that you need, you can use the crop tool to add some white canvas area.

Draw a crop area over the entire photo. Hold down Shift+Alt (Win) / Shift+Option (Mac) and drag out any of the corners to add space around the image. Holding Shift constrains the width and height proportions, and holding Alt/Option re-sizes the selection from the center.

When you get it to the size you want, you can use the guides to approximate, press enter and your done.

Just another option.

[revjvegas]

PS: even if your photo is not 8x10, if you follow the above and set your crop tool to 8x10 dimensions, you can add the canvas area to make it work.

For example, this image I had was 8x11. I set the crop for 8x10 and filled the image, then pulled it out till I had about a 1/4" of white bleed on one edge.
(note: my background to the white edge is soft just because on my original image I'd applied a blur to the background.)

Should give you the general idea though.

[venchka]

This is where the Print module in Lightroom is soooooooooooooooooooo easy. All you have to do is set the paper size & the long dimension of the photo and everything falls into place. I can't beleive that all of the above is really required just to make a 2:3 aspect ratio image print 10" long with Photoshop.

[mercphoto]

Originally Posted by venchka

This is where the Print module in Lightroom is soooooooooooooooooooo easy. All you have to do is set the paper size & the long dimension of the photo and everything falls into place. I can't beleive that all of the above is really required just to make a 2:3 aspect ratio image print 10" long with Photoshop.

It is terribly easy to print a 2:3 image 10" long. What you get is a 6.67x10" image. What is NOT terribly easy is to print a 2:3 image as an 8x10 image. That will require either cropping or canvas fill. There is no way around it. The math mandates it.

[abuford]

if I understand what you want to do is to prepare a photo for someone to print, you can do the following in photoshop

1) image --> image size--> change document size to inches - select the longest dimension to 10" or less - if you don't leave the chain icon in place it will resize proportionally
2) image --> canvas size --> change to inches set to 8 x 10 - you can select if the picture is centered on skewed to one side or the other - you can also select the background color which will fill up the white space

[venchka]

The best thing to do is forget that 8x10 exists. Here we are 70+ years into the 2:3 aspect ratio era and folks are still trying to print 8x10.

Bill of course is 100% correct. I failed to mention that a 2:3 original can not, will not and shall not EVER be forced onto an 8x10 sheet of paper without cropping or distorting the original image. My point was the ease with which Lightroom prints a 2:3 original 10" long & centered on an 8x10 or 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

Photoshop makes printing hard.

5x7 wastes the least amount of your original image.

[mercphoto]

Originally Posted by venchka

The best thing to do is forget that 8x10 exists. Here we are 70+ years into the 2:3 aspect ratio era and folks are still trying to print 8x10.

Here here! The big problem is, of course, the framing industry. :( Sigh... I predict, however, with only a minimal amount of certainty, that photography aspect ratios might evolve once again, this time to a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Photoshop makes printing hard.

No argument there either.

[kenw]

They aren't too rare but the 4x12 panoramic frames are good for these shots. I usually have to work a little bit to get the master to 4x12, then get 2 on a 8x12 print (not uncommon at all), then cut them apart and use a 4x12 panoramic frame.

Panoramic prints are great for group shots, sunsets, fields of bluebonnets... or anything else that has a really wide aspect ratio. Trains, ships, snakes....

Bill, the dollar stores are loaded to the gils with 3.5x5 frames. A victim of evolution for sure....

[venchka]

Arlo was familiar with 8x10s, hey???????????

[crazyfoo]

Try using Content-aware Scale - hit or miss if it will work well, but when it works it works great in my experience!

Adobe Photoshop CS5 * Content-aware scaling

[kenw]

Originally Posted by venchka

Arlo was familiar with 8x10s, hey???????????

and Group W, too....