Common Misconceptions

Print sizes can be deceiving. The actual print size is different than the print dimensions listed on the packaging. So what’s true? What are the right print sizes for your photos? Let’s take a look:

The photo on the left is a 4×6 and as you can see, it’s really small. But when I look at it, I don’t think it looks small (click to enlarge). It is not what I would consider an “economy” print size. I would consider this an “at home” print size. At a professional lab or kiosk, if you ask for a 5×7 or larger from this image file, they will probably tell you that they can’t do that because of the resolution of the image file. That’s just something they tell you so that they don’t have to go into too much detail about how they print things. In reality, there are some tricks they use in order to make the image look good when printed larger than its original file size.

Printing your digital photos at the local photo lab is fast, convenient and inexpensive. Or is it?

Today we’ll look at one of the most common misconceptions about printing photographs: how to choose the size for a print.

Let’s start with a quick review of how digital cameras work. The sensor in your camera captures an image and stores it as a set of pixels. Each pixel holds information about the color of light that fell on it when you took the picture, along with additional details such as whether that light came from above or below, left or right, etc. A computer constructs a full-color image out of these colored pixels.

The number of pixels in an image determines its resolution, measured in pixels per inch (PPI). The more pixels there are in an inch, the finer the detail captured by the camera. The number of horizontal pixels times the number of vertical pixels determines how large you can print an image without losing any important detail.

So what’s a good size for a photo print? If you ask most people this question, they will tell you to make prints that are 8×10 or 5×7 inches in size. But why should you do this? And what happens if you don’t?

Print sizes for photographs are often misunderstood. The question is not about the size of the photograph, but about the size of your photo print. So let’s start with a few basic definitions…

The most common print sizes are 8×10, 5×7, and 4×6. But what do these numbers mean?

For example, an 8×10 print has a width of 8 inches. But it can also be described as having a length of 10 inches. An 8×10 is also known as an “8×10”.

Number (1) is called the aspect ratio. It’s how wide the photo is compared to how tall it is. If a photo has an aspect ratio of 3:4, it would have a width of 3 inches and a height of 4 inches.

A second way to describe (or measure) the print size of a photo is to use its dimensions . This involves simply listing both the width and height in inches or centimeters or whatever unit you prefer to use. The dimensions of an 8×10 can be listed as 8×10 (8 by 10), 8 x 10 (8 by 10) or even 80 x 100 (80 by 100).

So which method should you use? The answer will depend on what kind

If you are in the market for a new piece of wall art for your kitchen, you probably want the photos to be the right size for the location. And there are many different sizes that could be right.

How big should your photos be? Most people would answer “as big as possible”, but this is not true. This is a common misconception among photography enthusiasts.

If you have a photograph in which the subject fills most of the frame, then it is tempting to assume that enlarging it will make it look better. Sometimes what looks best is to keep the image small.

When deciding on print sizes for your photos, remember this one rule: A photo does not need to be any larger than its subject. It’s also important to take into account how far away someone will be when looking at it and what their eyesight is like.**

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If you have been searching for a photo to buy as a gift, then you may be surprised by what you find. You could go to a local department store and find that their selection includes large prints and small prints. You might also find the size of the prints are much smaller than you would expect.

What is the right print size? How many sizes are there? And why do they keep changing?

The answer is that most people do not know how to look at photos. They are used to seeing photos in magazines and on billboards which are printed very large. They think that these large photos will look good when they get them framed and put them on the wall. This can make it harder for the local stores to sell them since the photos will be too small for the walls of most homes. The majority of customers want large wall art, but this is not what they usually find at the store when they shop for gifts.

This has led to a change in how pictures are made and printed today. There is no longer just one standard print size, or even one set of standards. Several different sizes of prints can now be produced from the same original photo using different printers or processes.”

The three main print sizes you’ll find at your local pro lab (and the one you should use for your kitchen wall art) are 5×7, 8×10 and 11×14.

There are also standard sizes for 4×6, 5×5 and 16×20. But when we talk about common sizes of prints, we’re talking about the standard paper sizes of 3.5×5, 4×6, 5×7 and so on.

The reason those four are popular is that they were the standard size for prints from 120 roll film cameras. In other words, these sizes were chosen because they fit a frame on a camera.

If you’re printing from 35mm or medium format negatives you can use any size print you want — as long as it’s in one of those standard formats. But if you’re printing from 4×6 inch digital files you need to choose one of the standard photo print sizes because photo labs will charge extra if you give them a print order with dimensions outside their standard “template.”

Common Misconception