Digital Photography Printing: Simplifying the Pixels and DPI’s
If you’re a photographer interested in exploring your hobby or turning it into a profession, the art of printing photographs is likely to come up sooner rather than later. This post will help you learn how to simplify pixels and DPI while exploring some popular techniques.
# What are Pixels?
Digital photography refers to the use of an electronic camera that can capture not only still photographs but also moving images. The process of taking pictures with this type of camera is called digital photography, and the pictures captured by digital cameras are made up of pixels that can be viewed on a computer screen, projected on a screen for slideshows, or printed out onto paper.
# What are DPI?
DPI refers to dots per inch, which is the measurement used to specify the resolution of an image. The higher the DPI, the better the quality of print that can be achieved. When printing photographs, it’s important to use a high enough resolution so that when you view the photo on screen and then print it out in paper or canvas format, you won’t see jagged lines. It’s also important that your image file isn’t too large - you don’t want your image to come out pixelated and blurry.
# What does it all mean?
Here are some tips on how to optimize your digital photography prints. There are several different methods, but I’ll show you the simplest and most cost-effective way to get great prints.
# Step 1: Check for Printing Guidelines When photographing something that is to be printed, always make sure the light needs to be just right. The images below show how white or black objects look when they are not exposed properly.
Once you have chosen a printable image, you will need a photo editing program and printing software like Photoshop or Gimp. You can purchase the software together or separately. The software that comes with a digital camera is not good enough to print photographs.
# Step 2: Use a Professional Printing Service For the best results, I highly recommend you print your photographs at a professional printing service like Kinko’s or Costco. There are several advantages to printing through a service such as these: 1) They tend to have more experience in printing photos, and they can use different methods like UV prints, which I’ll explain below. 2) They are able to use different inks and papers that work better with color photos. 3) The prices are much lower than when printing at home using your own computer and printer.
# Step 3: Print your Photographs in UV Format I have tried printing photographs at home using my computer and printer, and I was disappointed with the results. They looked dull and had too much contrast. The photos printed at a professional printer service came out looking much better, because they knew how to use the different inks and paper to create high quality prints.
# Step 4: Find software that can help you print like a pro I’ve tried several different photography editing softwares to get the best results when printing photos. My favorite software is Adobe Photoshop CS6, but it’s expensive (unless you can find it used). My other favorites are Gimp and InkScape. For the best results, you will need a photo editing program and printing software like Photoshop or Gimp.
# Step 5: Keep your File Size Small Prints are created by scanning your digital photos, which can be very time-consuming. If you have thousands of photos to print, it can also be very expensive. The suggested file size for printing is 8 megapixels, but I recommend keeping this number lower when possible. To get the best results when printing photographs at Kinko’s or Costco, I recommend at least 6 megapixels. Anything larger than this number is too large for printing and can cause your images to become grainy. To keep the filesize small, the photo resolution should be at least 300 dpi.
# Step 6: Optimize your Prints with a Professional Printing Service By using a professional printing service, you can ensure that your photos are printed in high quality. The pros can make sure the lighting is just right, and they can use different paper and inks to get the best prints. If you print at home, you’ll likely need to purchase high quality ink cartridges for your printer - these run up the cost of printing very quickly.
# Step 7: Avoid Bright Colors If you plan to print photographs on white paper, avoid too much contrast. When you don’t have enough contrast between the dark and light tones, the print will have a dull look.
# Step 8: Try Different Brands of Photo Paper Kinko’s and Costco both carry a wide range of different types of photo paper. I recommend photographing in natural light so that you can get the best results. They also have different types of photo paper that is better designed for different purposes, such as wedding photos or product shots for brochures. Try shooting your photographs on different types of paper in natural lighting to see what looks best with each type of image.
# Step 9: Always use a Tripod When photographing something still, always make sure to use a tripod. A tripod will keep your camera steady so you can capture your subjects in focus. If you don’t have a tripod, find another way to stabilize your camera so that it doesn’t move during the exposure. This could mean placing the camera on something stationary or using a high ISO setting.
# Step 10: Shutter Speed for Digital Photos Before taking photographs, learn how shutter speed can affect picture quality by reading more on Wikipedia . The instructions below show how different shutter speeds will affect your digital photo. For best results, use a shutter speed between 1/100 and 1/500 of a second.
# Step 11: Frames per Second (FPS) Frames per second is the answer to the question “How many pictures can I take per second?” Photography uses slower shutter speeds, so photographers often try to take more photos in one sitting by using an FPS of 60 or more. This increases the number of photographs that can be taken per second, but it also drains the battery faster and causes the memory card to fill up faster too. To get the best results when printing photographs at a professional service, I recommend shooting at 30 FPS.
# Step 12: Use filters to improve picture quality Now and then, you may want to use a filter or lens effect to make your image more interesting. Photographers can play with different filters or lens effects like this one to achieve different results.
# Step 13: Save your work on a CD-ROM Before printing photos, I recommend saving them as an .EPS file in your favorite photo editing program. This filetype works on all types of computers and printers. When you save photos as .EPS files, they are much smaller than other filetypes like .
Conclusion
I hope you’ve learned a few things about how to take great digital photos and save them on your computer. I think that taking good pictures of your kids is an important step to capturing their memories and preserving them for the future. Good luck with your photos and have fun!
Final Thoughts: If you follow the advice on this page, you should be able to avoid low resolution, grainy pictures that usually come from digital cameras. If you enjoy photography, consider taking more classes or joining a club where you can meet other photographers.