You would think this would be easy yet every competition there is always someone who struggles with this or gets it wrong, so we wrote this guide to help you out.
The club projector matches the CACC standard of 1,600 pixels wide and 1,200 pixels tall. If you do the maths this is a projector with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Most DSLR cameras shoot with an aspect ratio of 3:2 so there will either be space above and below the image, or you will need to crop the original to fit.
If your original image was 3,000 pixels wide and 2,000 pixels tall you will need to resize it to 1,600 pixels wide by 1037 pixels tall to fit our projector. If your orginal image was in portrait orientation with 2,000 pixels wide and 3,000 pixels tall you will resize to 800 pixels wide by 1,200 pixels tall.
For projected image competitions there is no concern or care for the dpi number, you can use 72, 96, 240, 300, 600 it makes no difference. Some programs don’t even show it to you since it doesn’t matter that much.
Solutions that work
There are hundreds, if not thousands of different software programs to allow you to resize your images and each does it in a slightly different way, but here is a selection of methods. You can click on the screenshots below to see them larger.
Please note that the sizes mentioned below relate to the older image size of 1,400 x 1,050 (now 1,600 x 1,200).
- Photoshop (PC/MAC)
- Photoshop Elements (PC/MAC)
- Aperture (MAC)
- Paintshop Pro (PC)
- FastStone Image Resizer (PC)
- Preview (MAC)
- Lightroom (PC/MAC)
Photoshop (PC/MAC)
Photoshop costs money (lots), you might not have this application. This was done with the Mac version of Photoshop CS5, but the Windows one looks and performs in exactly the same way.
Open your file and do whatever you need to do to it – maybe nothing
Go to Image then Image Size…
Type in the width and height that you want to size your image for. In this case the image was the appropriate aspect ratio and so it would resize to exactly 1400 x 1050 pixels. You don’t need to change anything in the Document Size: box, so don’t modify the dpi value or the centimetres. Make sure that Constrain Proportions is checked.
Then save your file.
If your image is not exactly the 4:3 aspect ratio, then you will need to make sure that the width and height are both within the specification. In this case a square image was resized to be 1050 pixels wide and 1050 pixels tall. Making it 1400 x 1400 pixels would make it too big.
Photoshop Elements (PC/MAC)
***screenshots coming soon***
Aperture (MAC)
Aperture is around £50 to buy from the Apple store, you might not have this on your Mac.
In Aperture the best solution is to your own output preset. The steps below show you how, and then how to use the preset you made. You only need to make the output preset the first time you try to resize your images.
When you have made all adjustments and are ready to export a jpg correctly sized within 1400 x 1050 pixels, right click on the image and select Export > Version
In the new window that pops up, select the location/folder you want to export to, and then select Edit at the bottom of the Export Preset list.
The Edit Preset window will Open. Click the “+” in the bottom left corner to create a new preset. This will only need to be done the first time you export, after that you will be able to just select it in the drop-down list. Use the following setup.
Rename the preset to something suitable – here it is called Imagez PDI Resize, make sure the Image Format is JPEG, set Image Quality to 12 (maximum), and DPI to 300. In the Size To drop down select Fit Within (Pixels) and set the Width to 1400 and the Height to 1050. Make sure the Color Profile is set to sRGB and then click on OK
Now all you have to do is type in the name of the file (don’t forget the correct format if it is for a competition) and click on Export Versions, and Bob’s your Uncle!
From now on, if you want to export images from Aperture as a jpg and within 1400 x 1050 pixels, the preset has been set up, so you only need to select it in the drop down list when exporting!
Paintshop Pro (PC)
Paint Shop Pro has been around for about 20 years now and is a somewhat cheaper alternative to Photoshop. It has many similar features and functions, although with subtly different naming. The “official” retail price hovers around the £80 mark, although you can obtain it elsewhere for less.
Go to Image then Resize
Depending on the version of Paint Shop Pro you use, the window is subtly different. The versions shown below are for Paint Shop Pro X (right) and Paint Shop Pro X2 (below right).
Note the similarities to the Photoshop options. The Width and Height speak for themselves, whereas instead of Constrain Proportions, you have the “Lock aspect ratio” option. As before, under normal circumstances you will only need to change the width, height, and keep the aspect ratio locked.
The primary difference in the resize window between the two Paint Shop Pro versions is that the Print and Pixel sizes have been swapped, so make sure you edit the Pixel Dimensions box.
FastStone Image Resizer (PC)
This is a free to use program for Windows, you can download a copy here DOWNLOAD FASTSTONE IMAGE RESIZER
***screenshots coming soon***
Preview (MAC)
Preview is free with every Mac.
***screenshots coming soon***
Lightroom (PC/MAC)
This a hugely popular software on both PC and Mac computers, it typically costs around £150 to buy.
***screenshots coming soon***
If you have another application that you use to resize your pictures and can make a couple of screenshots and describe how it works then we’ll add them here too.