Optimizing Images for Digital Projection A few of our Camera Club members have been disappointed that their digital images just don t look the same when projected during a digital critique or a slide show. There are several possible causes for this and most are readily corrected if the proper technique is used for optimizing their images for projection. This includes calibration of your monitor, selecting the proper color space (srgb), resizing to the appropriate dimensions, sharpening and saving in JPEG format. Color Space It is then necessary to have your images be in the same color space as the projector. There are two major color spaces, Adobe RGB (1998) and srgb. Adobe RGB (1998) is the proper color space if you plan on printing your images as it has the largest possible range of colors and will best match the colors produced by your printer. The srgb color space has a much smaller range of colors but is used in almost all Internet sites and digital projectors. If you try to project an image that is in the Adobe RGB (1998) color space the projector will try to find matching colors but is not always very successful in doing so. Sometimes the images look good and other times they look bad. It is a simple matter to select the proper color space when the image is finally being saved for projection. After the image is completely prepared to your satisfaction you need to check the color space and convert it if necessary. In the editing window of Photoshop Elements go to Image>Convert to Profile. There are three choices listed: Remove Profile, Apply srgb and Apply Adobe RGB. If your image is already in srgb then that option will be grayed out and do nothing further. If your image has no profile or is in Adobe RGB then just select srgb. It s that easy. If you are using Photoshop (any version) go to Edit>Convert to profile (near the bottom of the edit list). Do not use Assign Profile as that will really ruin the image. After clicking on Convert to Profile you will see your present Profile in the Source Space. If it already says srgb just click on Cancel and you are done. If it says anything else then go to the next box-destination Space. Click on the down arrow. You will see lots of choices but carefully go down to the 5 th box and select srgb. It may have lots of numbers after it but just ignore them. After selecting srgb click on OK and you are done. Don t worry about the Conversion Options box as the defaults are usually OK.
Resizing The next chore in preparing the image for projection is to make sure it is properly sized. If it is under sized (too small pixel dimensions) or too large (too large pixel dimensions) our PowerPoint program that shows the images will resize it to fit the screen. PowerPoint does not do a good job at resizing so the image may look blurry or pixilated. The images will look their best if they are as close to 1400 pixels wide or 1050 pixels tall. Again this is easy to do. In Elements, go to Image>Resize>Image Size. In the dialog box that appears make sure all three of the small boxes at the bottom are checked and the box next to Resample has Bicubic selected. In the top box highlight Width and enter 1400 if the image is in landscape mode (wider than tall) and the Height will change automatically. If your image is in portrait mode (taller than wide) then instead enter 1050 in the Height box and the width will be automatically changed for you. In Photoshop the steps for resizing are almost identical: go to Image>Image Size. Make sure all three boxes at the bottom have check marks in them and it says Bicubic (best for smooth gradients). In the top box highlight Width and enter 1400 if the image is in landscape mode (wider than tall) and the Height will change automatically. If your image is in portrait mode (taller than wide) then instead enter 1050 in the Height box and the Width will be automatically changed for you. Do nothing in the Document Size box. Click OK and you are done. In Photoshop there is an even easier way to do this on a regular basis. In the File dropdown menu select Automate>Fit Image. In the box that appears type in 1400 for the Width and 1050 for the Height. Click OK and the image will be resized to the proper dimensions. That box will now retain those numbers in the future so when you do the next image it is even easier to resize.
Sharpen Remember, all images will look better if they are sharpened appropriately after being resized. Use Auto Sharpen (Elements only), or Unsharp Mask (Photoshop and Elements) or Smart Sharpen (later versions of Photoshop) in an appropriate amount before going on to save the image. In Elements go to Enhance>Auto Sharpen and the image will be safely and easily sharpened. Or, if you want more control go to Enhance>Unsharp Mask. For a start, change the Amount to 50%, the Radius to 0.5-1.0 and the Threshold to 0. You can increase or decrease the sharpening by increasing the Amount or the Radius but be careful not to over sharpen. Click the Preview button off and on to see if the result is pleasing. Click OK and you are done. In later versions of Photoshop go to Filters>Sharpen>Smart Sharpen. Change the Amount to 50% and the Radius to 0.5. In the Remove box select Lens Blur. Click the Preview button off and on to see the effect. Adjust as necessary making sure not to over sharpen. Or, in earlier versions of Photoshop go to Filters>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask and use the settings as outline above for Elements.
JPEG file saving The image must then be saved as a JPEG at a file size around 550k to 750k. In both Elements and Photoshop go to File>Save As. Select a location that you can remember (or it may become lost). In the File name box give it a name as outlined in the rules and regulations. In the Format box select JPEG from the dropdown list and click Save. In the JPEG Options box that then appears select a number between 5 and 12 or move the slider until it results in a file size around 550k. A number of 850k would be too much and 400k would be too little. Too small a file size will result in some diminishment of the image quality. Too large a number could cause the PowerPoint program to stutter a little. PLEASE NOTE PROPER NAMING OF YOUR IMAGE PI your name image name.jpg PII your name image name.jpg M your name images name.jpg A your name image name.jpg S your name image name. PI Burt Goldstein Seagull.jpg