How To Take a High-Resolution Photo To Submit To Vision Of Beauty

                                          HOW TO TAKE A HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTO TO SUBMIT TO 

                                                                              VISION OF BEAUTY

Nothing is more disappointing to the Calendar Committee than to select a photo of a fabulous design or garden scene only to have it rejected by the printer because the photo was not of suf­ficient resolution. Digital images are made up of thousands of pixels (blocks of color), and the number of pixels in the image will determine how high the image’s resolution is. High-resolution photos are required for sharp reproduction in publications, other­wise the printing quality is very poor.

Here are some tips so that you can produce a digital image of sufficient reso­lution for printing in the Vision of Beauty Calendar.

• Make sure your camera is rated at eight MP or higher.
• Set your camera to take the heaviest photo with the most pixels possible. (This setting is usually called Large.)
• Adjust your camera to the superfine compression setting if it permits compres­sion manipulation.
• Do not use digital Zoom to take the photo.
• Do not resize the photo to send elec­tronically. Send it at its full original size. If you cannot do this because of internet limita­tions, consider putting the digital jpeg photo onto a DVD or pen drive for mailing.
• Using photo-editing software may re­size your photo to a lesser resolution, one of the reasons the non-professional use of Photoshop is discouraged.
• If the jpeg photo you send is less than one MB in size, it is doubtful that it will have the required resolution for excellent print reproduction.
• If you can view your photo’s properties using your computer, make sure it is at least 1350 pixels wide and 2250 pixels tall.
• One way to be sure that your Vision of Beauty Calendar entry photo will have the resolution needed to be reproduced by the printer is to have it done by a professional photographer. Professional grade cameras have bigger and better sensors, which pro­duce higher quality pixels. Design groups and Flower Shows can consider sharing the cost of a professional photographer among their participants.
• Successful photos do not show entry cards or award ribbons. A plain background is preferred, and the photo must be well composed in terms of color, lighting, and framing. Make sure that there are no dis­tracting shadows.

The Vision of Beauty Calendar Commit­tee looks forward to receiving your calendar entries and hopes these hints will help you to get the best quality photos possible of your stunning designs and gardens.

Sandy Mangels, NGC Calendar Commit­tee, International Affiliates

Article and photos reprinted with permission by The National Gardener, Spring 2016.