Basic Editing Functions

In this article we’ll be looking at the most basic of editing processes: resizing. Images need to be resized when:
. You wish to send them in emails or post them on websites. A typical digital camera has between 10 and 15 megapixels of resolution, which produces image files between 2MB and 4MB in size. Transmitting such large files would use a lot of bandwidth; not to mention time. Large files are also much larger than most monitor displays. Smaller files can be sent much more quickly and cheaply ““ and can look just as good on the viewer’s screen.
. You wish to view them on widescreen TV sets. Although most cameras can be connected to a TV set to allow slideshows of images in the memory to be played, the 4:3 aspect ratio of a typical digital photo doesn’t match the 16:9 aspect ratio of a widescreen TV set. Some sets will stretch the image to fill the width of the screen (making everything look rather fat). Others will put black or grey bars at the sides of the image. Cropping and resizing your pictures to the correct dimensions is the only way to produce slideshows in which all pictures are at full screen size.
. You’re preparing a ‘brag book’ for your smart phone or portable media player so you can enjoy and share your photos while on the go. All these applications have different size requirements. There are additional resolution requirements for images you wish to print. So first you need to know just how much your digital photos

All these applications have different size requirements. There are additional resolution requirements for images you wish to print. So first you need to know just how much your digital need to be adjusted for each application. The ideal image sizes for different screen-based and printing applications are shown in Image Size and Resolution Requirements.

First a word of caution: ALWAYS WORK ON COPIES OF YOUR IMAGES. Save the originals in a separate ‘archive’ folder where they can’t be adjusted. That way, if something goes amiss, you have your original image to go back to.

Software for Image Resizing
Virtually any image editor can be used for image re-sizing. However, there are also resizing facilities built into in the Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

In addition, a number of freeware image resizers can be downloaded from the Internet.

Which one(s) you choose will depend on the degree to which you wish to become involved in editing your pictures, whether you would prefer to resize files individually or in batches and the amount of control you require over the image size and resolution settings.

Microsoft has a selection of downloads called ‘PowerToys’ that includes the Image Resizer application. A link to the download site is provided at the end of this chapter. Downloading this 521KB file takes only a few seconds with a fast Internet connection and it’s almost as quick to install. To use Image Resizer, follow these steps:

1. Locate the folder where you stored the pictures you want to resize. Right-click on the photo you want to resize. Select Resize Pictures from the drop-down menu.

A pop-up window will appear with four 2. options to choose from, shown below.

3. If none of these options is suitable, click on the Advanced tab which will enable you to enter a Custom size.

By default, the Image Resizer software will create copies of your photos, appending the size chosen to the original filename. For example, a photo titled IMG_0001 will become IMG_0001 (small).

Macintosh users can access similar resizing facilities in their operating systems. Apple’s Automator supports resizing of images using either the Scale Images or Crop Images actions. The former lets you specify the size you want. Simply copy the images you want to resize to a folder on the desktop, right click on that folder, and choose Automator. The application will copy them, resize them and save them as new files.

An alternative for Mac users is iPhoto. Simply load the images you wish to resize into iPhoto, select them all and click on Share > Export > File Export. You can select the destination file size there.
Two more powerful image resizers for Windows users are Irfanview and Arclab Thumb Studio. Both include batch processing facilities for resizing, renaming and file conversion plus tools for creating slideshows, a multimedia player and limited editing controls. Irfanview is simpler to use so we’ve provided examples using it. Links to both downloads are provided at the end of this article.

To resize images with Irfanview, simply select the folder containing the images you wish to work on, click on Options and choose Select All from the drop-down menu.

Next click on File and select “Start batch dialog with selected files”.

This opens a dialog box titled Batch Conversion, which lets you choose the processing you wish to apply. Leave the “Work as:” dialog set at the default Batch conversion and the Batch conversion settings at JPG/JPEG Format. Choose where you want to store the resized files by Browsing in the “Output directory for result files” box.

Click on the Advanced button to open a second dialog box, which lets you input the new size for the images you’ve selected.

Then click on the Start Batch button. All the files you have selected will be resized and saved as copies in the folder you designated.

Another popular image editor available as a free download is The GIMP (which stands for the GNU Image Manipulation Program). It’s available in many languages at www.gimp.org and works on most popular operating systems. Unlike the applications mentioned above, The GIMP is a very sophisticated – and quite powerful – editor, with lots of controls and functions in its toolbox. You need a reasonably high level of computer competence to use many of them.
Resizing images in The GIMP is, fortunately, relatively easy when you follow these steps:

1. Click on the name of the file you wish to open and then on the Open button.

2. From the top toolbar, select Image and then Scale Image from the drop-down menu.

A dialog box will appear showing the dimensions and resolution of the original image.

3. Simply key in the dimensions you want in one of the axes in the Image Size box. The axes are linked, so the other box should adjust to the correct ratio when you hit Enter or OK.

At this stage you can also adjust the output resolution for printing in the X resolution and Y resolution boxes. Then save the image as a copy of your original file.

Cropping Tools
All image editors include cropping tools. They are often indicated by an icon looking like overlapped angles. Using this tool is similar in all image editors; you simply click on part of the image you wish to crop, drag the cursor to cover the section of the picture you want to preserve and release the mouse. The area that will be removed is greyed out, leaving the area you want to retain.

Cropping with Picasa. The cropping tool is one of the Basic Fixes tools.

Cropping with Photoshop Elements. The cropping tool is circled in red in the sidebar.

You can adjust the top, bottom and side edges of the crop by clicking and dragging them. Once you’re happy with the new image, click on the tick mark or Apply button and the grey areas will be cut off.

USEFUL URLs
Visit the following websites for free software downloads and/or additional information on the topic covered in this chapter:
www.photoreview.com.au/tips/editing.
http://bit.ly/image-resizer for Microsoft’s PowerToys,including the Image Resizer application.
www.irfanview.com for Irfanview, a capable image browser and file manager that includes easy batch resizing facilities.
http://bit.ly/thumbstudio for Arclab Thumb Studio.
www.resizr.com for a quick, online resizing tool.
www.gimp.org for The GIMP, a sophisticated freeware image editor.
This is an excerpt from Post Capture Pocket Guide.
Click here for more details on this and other titles in the Pocket Guide series.

Visit epson.com.au for the latest Epson printers.