How-To: Adjust Resolution
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Adjusting Resolution
Many digital cameras save images at 72 dpi and increase the physical size of the photo to increase the quality. Scaling down the image without changing the resolution can result in a serious loss of image quality, but changing the resolution without changing the size will result in making the file much larger than necessary, distorting the final image. The key is to change the resolution and the size of your image at the same time. Many photo editing programs will allow you to make these necessary adjustments.
For example, in Adobe Photoshop©, the "Image -> Image Size" command allows you to easily adjust the physical size of the image as well as the resolution.
- At the top of the window, make a note of the original pixel dimension.
- Make sure "Constrain Proportions" is checked at the bottom of the window.
- Change the "Resolution" field to 300. The pixel dimensions should be larger now.
- Change the pixel dimensions back to the original numbers. This will scale the physical size of the document to its proper size.
EXAMPLE: An image is from your digital camera is 16.667" x 25" at 72 dpi. The original pixel dimensions are 1200 x 1800. After changing the resolution to 300 dpi and changing the pixel dimensions back to 1200 x 1800, the new dimensions of the image are 4" x 6".
By taking this quick extra step, you can make sure you're getting the best quality image out of your digital photos.