When images are projected in competition the projector sets the size and aspect ratio of the image, typically most projectors use a 4:3 aspect ratio. Many digital SLR cameras capture images in a more landscape format with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Even portrait orientation images are shown on the same projector with black bars added to the space around the image. We have found that many images benefit from having a 1 or 2-pixel wide pin frame added to them. White is commonly used for the pin-frame, but it very much depends on the colours in the image.
Adding a pin-frame is simple in Photoshop and other applications
To add a pin frame to the image, make sure you have resized it to the final size required for projection. ImageZ uses a Canon projector with a resolution of 1600 pixels wide by 1200 pixels high.
- Select the whole image, go to the SELECT menu and select ALL. Or press <CTRL> A or <CMD> A (Win/Mac)
- Go to the EDIT menu and select STROKE… and set the options as shown
That’s all there is to it, really simple and actually something you can create a Photoshop action for if you like.
What about alternatives to Photoshop?
A great freeware alternative to resize your pictures and add pin-frames to them for you is the FastStone Image Resizer. It’s only available for Windows but is free and easy to use.
For Aperture users on the Mac there is a free plugin called BorderFX that can apply borders automatically on exporting your final image. It can be downloaded from here: http://www.iborderfx.com/BorderFX/