What is the affect on Image Resolution???

[Andy Price]

Hi all,

Can anyone help with this? When you edit and crop an image in Elements 8 and then save it as a jpeg the corresponding file is much reduced from the original (the images I am working with are jpegs not raw). Are these smaller files a result of the reduction in image size or is there an affect on resolution???

The person I am doing the editing for wants to print some canvases.

Thanks
Andy

[ap4a]

Conversion to jpeg from another format (such as raw or tif) uses lossy compression to achieve a smaller file size. Lossy compression means that it throws away some data in the process. This isn't usually noticeable unless your settings over compress the image, or unless you repeat the process a few times. This doesn't reduce the overall size of the image.

Cropping involves the physical removal of a section of an image, and as a result does reduce the size of the image.

[chris-p]

Yeah, cropping reduces file size in terms of dimensions (rather than size in terms of storage capacity - although it will reduce this as well). Resolution is a different issue altogether.

I feel a tutorial coming on...

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by Andy Price

Hi all,

Can anyone help with this? When you edit and crop an image in Elements 8 and then save it as a jpeg the corresponding file is much reduced from the original (the images I am working with are jpegs not raw). Are these smaller files a result of the reduction in image size or is there an affect on resolution???

The person I am doing the editing for wants to print some canvases.

Thanks
Andy

When you crop a picture you are reducing it physical size in dimensions but the resolution remains virtually the same, that's assuming you save at maximum Jpeg size. If you increase the compression of the Jpeg, by selecting a number smaller than maximum size, then you are reducing the resolution, dimensions and file size at the same time.

[Andy Price]

Thanks all for the replies.

So does this mean I need to set the quality level when saving the edited image in PSE8 to maximum which I presume is 10 (at present set at the default of 8).

Thanks again.

[chris-p]

Maximum is usually 12. I would always keep it set at the maximum regardless of size or resolution.

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by Andy Price

Thanks all for the replies.

So does this mean I need to set the quality level when saving the edited image in PSE8 to maximum which I presume is 10 (at present set at the default of 8).

Thanks again.

As Chris say maximum is 12, which gives you the best resolution. Only use the slider when you need to reduce the file size for uploading to the web. As you move the slider it should show how big the file is. If you are working on a Jpeg file then you should save as a Tiff until you have finished when you can change it back to a Jpeg. This is because everytime you save a Jpeg file it reduces it's resolution by a small amount, and if you need to print large at a later date it could be noticable.