Match Resolution to Output

Image resolution remains one of the great mysteries to hobbyist photographers; there’s one setting for computer viewing and another for print output. Here’s how it works.

I can’t resist starting this chapter with an anecdote. Usually, I wouldn’t, but I feel that this story sets the tone for the entire chapter.

About a year ago, after teaching a two-hour digital photography seminar, I was fielding questions from attendees while packing up my equipment. One gentleman approached me and said, “I have just one question for you. How do I change the resolution of my pictures without changing their dimensions? I know there’s one little thing I need to do, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it is.”

This guy had patiently sat through an entire seminar, probably about stuff he already knew, just so he could ask this question afterward.

I reopened my laptop, launched Photoshop, and showed him the magic box that he needed to uncheck. His eyes lit up, he grabbed my right hand, and he shook it vigorously. “Thank you, thank you!” he exclaimed and ran out the door. Most likely, he headed directly home and went to work.

For me, that experience sums up Photoshop for digital photographers. You know there’s some way to accomplish everything you want to do, but for the life of Moses, you can’t figure out half of them. Or, as in the case of my student, you can’t remember what you already know. How to adjust picture resolution for printing falls squarely into that category ...

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