Ok im pulling my hair out here. lol
im so confused lol
when you send off prints anywhere they all have standard sizes like 8x10
well I thought straight out of the camera it would be a standard size as well.
I uploaded a bunch of images online to be printed. and they crop most the image off!!

how do you prevent this? because I like the full image I dont like where they crop off the image at all.

any help would be great :-)
you cant keep the normal size out of a camera without printing a custom size?

I no longer go to print shops dealing in those conventional sizes of 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14 and so on as they are so expensive and the quality and color balance are all over the place. Instead, I have mine printed by color laser printer onto good quality heavy gloss paper, similar to some cover stock.

I use Photoshop to size them appropriately to what their useable print area is, for example, when printing on 11" × 17" paper, I size my print to 10.5" × 15.75"  (a 2:3 ratio) so the entire print can be printed on that paper without any cropping. Typically copy shops charge a file handling fee per file (not per image) so I wait until I have about 30 or so to print and I change the Photoshop files into PDF and combine them to become one document. That way, I pay one file fee of $3.95 and then a charge of only about $1.25 per page.

You could, for example create two 8 × 10s on one sheet this way and trim them yourself for a cost of under a buck apiece. The quality of these prints is pretty good. Here, a conventional 8 × 10 would cost about $8.00 each.

Wayne

Attached Link: Resizing photos for print

just press play on the video on the attached link and hopefully that'll be all you need to know ;)

after then for specific image sizes just google for print dimensions or something similar... I typically print at A3 and A4 as I do my own prints and the paper is easier to come across in those sizes... for an A3 for example, I'll make sure that the image fills the screen and that it's at 420mm by 297mm, A4 is 297mm by 210mm, but you can obviously change to see inches and then just put in 10 x 8... anyway watch the video, it should help

Adam

I was wondering the same thing myself! 

Miranda, if you compare proportions of your sensor size, meaning hieght to width, you will see the difference.  Divide the height by width and get a number, the ratio of  the dimensions.  Then do that with the standard sizes of photos.  Those with the same result will print with the same proportions.  The others will not.  Still, these may not fit your cropped image.

What to do?   Crop the image like you want it to be.  Open a new canvas (ps   file>new) and make the new canvas a bit larger than the cropped photo. (Use a white flood fill if you want but if saved as jpt it will fill anyway.)  Copy and paste your image onto the new background and crop the new background to the standard size.   You will have fill space (padding) around your image but this will print the right size.  If matted when framed, the mat may be cut to fit the image just right.

There is likely a much easier way but this is easy enough and works with the local and on-line printers who stick to standard sizes.

I rarely use standard sizes, either the American inches sizes or International Standards, which the various "A" sizes and siblings are part of.    So,  crop to please and either find a printer who will do any size (specialty, higher end and expensive) or use the larger background with white space.

Yikes, I have paid for an 8 x 10 just to have a decent print of a 7 x 4 or some odd size like that.

Attached Link: http://americanarteditions.com/giclee_printing_prices.html

The place in the link **does sizes of any choice of inches**, pick a length in inches and pick a height.  The problem is all is done in giclee (you pronounce it )  but if you want to pay for  quality "watercolor" photo paper or canvas printed with ink there is no problem. Prices are less than for comparable printings at places I have checked out.

I had one print done on canvas and it looks great.   Still, it is off to the standard size printers for most all my stuff, on  photo papers done with chemistry.    

I don't have the printer at home to do the job and really don't want that or could afford it.  Concerns about the years of life of a print also concern me so I go with those who claim archival quality.     To me, photography and printing are two different birds entirely.     Tom.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm ... solutions before knowing the exact problem. 

First we need to have more information ...

In Photoshop (as shown in the attched sample), you can specify both the number of pixels and the document size.  You can also specify "Resolution" in pixels per inch (PPI) ... that figure may get used when the image is printed. 

After you have done all of your image editing you should save the Photoshop Document (.PSD) with all of the layers ...,

Then you might want to also create a JPG for uploading and/or printing.  You change the pixel count with Image -> Image Size.  You might want to reduce the number of pixels in order to reduce the file size for uploading, etc.  You also might want to set the print dimensions and/or reduce the PPI resolution

BTW you should NEVER uncheck  "Constrain Proportions" unless you intend to distort the shape of the imgage. 

If you have a photo quaity printer, you might want to use print preview: File -> Print with Preview, there you can check "Scale to Fit Media".  This applies ONLY to your own printer -- not to what happens at a photofinishing shop. 

Please ask more questions if I have led you away from the light (of understanding). 

--Martin

lol thank you for all the info and taking the time to type all this out..

but as much as I hate to say it I think im even more confused then i was already lol

a couple things
my hubby worked for years as a artist. and he told me all printers he has ever delt with wanted a 300 dpi tiff file.

my camera puts out 240 dpi lol

and he also told me jpg is not a good print file something about loss of information but yet here seems jpg is ok to upload to a printer?

also my biggest problem is this and i have yet to find a answer to it lol

i have done 2 shoots last week.. and edited in my own style. and for some reason it caused a stir and other people want me to shoot them.. I know your laughing now but hey ill try it lol

and this is the thing they keep hitting me with that seems to be a problem
they want to see a print size package to choose from..
in other words they want me to hand them a list starting with 8x10 on up
so ill make up some numbers to give an example
they want me to hand them a list like this
8x10 $10
16x20 $20
22x22 $30
on up

and i just made up this numbers and prices because I have no idea yet what to print out and hand them and i have to turn it in tomorrow

so this is my problem
so far i have figured out so many odd sizes the list would go on forever and i wouldnt know how to even price it with so many sizes lol

people want a firm size and price on paper handed to them so they can pick I have no idea why lol
but my camera when i shoot I try and shoot to where I wont need to crop dont always work that way but when I look in the camera im looking for a long time before I click. because im seeing it as a finished product in the view finder

so I know everyone is trying to help and I thank you for that :-)
but I still dont know how to type up a package with 8x10 being the smallest
they want sizes they can get matted and framed
guess they dont see my photos as something for wallet size lol

In Photoshop, when you use the Crop Tool, you can (at the top) actually specify (and save your most used) the size you want it to be printed as. Type in the inches/centimeters wide and high, and at what dpi you want, and the Crop Tool will be constrained to ONLY that size until you hit the Clear button.

I just shoot normally, edit normally, and save as a TIF when I'm finally finished - this is my "master" image. Whenever I want to print it or HAVE it printed (photo lab, etc.), I use the Crop Tool in the above fashion, and then re-save the cropped image with a new name denoting the size. Example:

ErikBDay0027_46.tif - the very end denotes a 4x6. When it ends in 57, or 810, guess what it is...? It becomes much easier to not only PRINT the right size, but I can keep track of what's been cropped, and the final crop is repeatable.

Hope this makes sense and helps-
-Lew

*"my hubby worked for years as a artist. and he told me all printers he has ever delt with wanted a 300 dpi tiff file."

CMYK printing almost always actually prints at 150 lines per inch. They WANT 300 for quality assurance, but you can go as low as 212 and it won't make a difference. very FEW printers actually print at 300 line - and newspapers are even lower!

And billboards (you're gonna love this) only go as very high as 36dpi - no kidding! Usually it's 12, or even 9!

Unless they give a specification ("it HAS to be 300 dpi!") people WILL turn in all manner of small crappy images because it looked fine on their screen - an 800x600 pixel image will print fine, right?

It's a guidline rather than a must. Knowing how the press actually works opens up some options, but it's a good guidline to go with overall.

Hope this helps-
-Lew

"in other words they want me to hand them a list starting with 8x10 on up..."

Awesome! This is good news for you - way to go!

Pricing can go all over the place - numerous "older" established studios will charge you over $100 for a freakin 5x7, and I think they're on the decllne in this economy.

Okay, you want a base start? Go to every minilab that has a studio and get their portrait listings. Go to Sears, the little family studios in the mall, etc. All you gotta do is ask. Get all their lists - make a whole day out of it, going from place to place. THIS is your competition so price accordingly.

However, given the postwork, the fact that you're not just setting up 2 lights with umbrellas without a care as to what they're hitting, you can probably charge a bit more given that your stuff is going to be a tad more "custom" than the others.

As far as packages, figure out what it would cost based on buying them individually, and lower it by something like 10% given that they're buying bulk. You wouldn't have HAD the bulk order if it was just going to cost them individual pricing, so make it worth it if they do the math.

Hope this helps-
-Lew

About printing cost ...

One of the labs I use has this price list ...

8x8    2.00
8x10   2.00
8x12   2.99
11x14  4.50
10x10  3.25
12x12  4.25
12x18 10.50
12x24 14.75

Another lab has this price list ...

8X10    $1.49   
8X12    $2.49   
8.5X11    $2.49   
9X12    $2.95   
10X10    $2.95   
10X15    $4.49   
10X13    $3.95   
11X14    $3.99   
11X17    $5.95   
12X12    $4.95   
12X18    $6.95   

I don't know what the shipping charges would be. 

--Martin

Martin, those labs have a respectable size ranges.  Is there one you perfer to use? I am still looking for better labs than I have been using.         Tom.

Not "lab" prints (the cost of YOU bringing in a negative/digital file to print) - labs that have a portrait studio - the PORTRAIT STUDIO'S print prices.

They take the pictures, their prices for studio picture. get it?

-Lew