Perfect photos are looking very soft

Read the many posts on how to tweak your preferences file - set all three DPI to 300 DPI, save the preferences file, and you will be fine as long as the photos are of adequate size to begin with, e.g. not 1 MP pictures you are trying to put in at full size in a large book.

If you read the posts on how to see the "hidden" PDF (or in fact after tweaking save and then look at the not hidden PDF) you will see how good the quality is, which to me is very good.

Hi Deborah, be sure to view the book pages in a single view and make the window as large as you can, viewing them larger might show the softness less. You can also use the print option, then down load the book to pdf file and view the images again that way. The photos look alot clearer and better in the final book form than on a screen, you used a very good camera, and if you had the resolution at the highest on the camera settings you won't have a problem, the bigger the file the better the photo for printing. You can also try using the sharpness option in the iPhoto program to fool around to see how it looks sharper verses softer. I find you have to have you screen calibrated perfect, the brightness at just the right settings to see the images exactly as they will be printed. I've tweaked my screen setting to a finished book which is a huge help.

(Do you think I should re-crop my images)

No, unless there are areas that you don't like it best to keep it large so you can move it around. By this I mean when you view the image in the book, if you click it twice fast till you see that bar on the top (but not the full color and crop option), now once it is in this mode: you can hold down the apple key (the one with the apple logo) at the same time as you place the mouse on the picture - you can then use the mouse to move the image in the frame to center it, sometime you can move it back and forth, other times up and down, this depends of the image size, that's why the bigger the better! it's a great feature.
If I can help more just ask, I love doing the books and have had good luck with iPhotos great program.

Deborah:

You found by experimentation what Apple discusses in Sharpness adjustment not apparent when viewed at less than 100%.

You shouldn't have to recrop your photos. You're already got them at the recommended 4:3 ratio.

You can use Pref Setter to edit iPhoto's preference file to increase the dpi setting for printing photos in the various sized books. The default size is 150 for both large and medium and 300 for the small books. Users have upped that to 300 for all books. I've had very good results on large books with the default setting of 150. I have a book at Apple currently with the 300 setting and should get it back this week. Medium sized book have a halftone appearance to the photo, similar to photos in magazines, when viewed closely. For normal viewing they look good.

Don't know if you know how to copy the pdf file that gets created by iPhoto for uploading and printing to review before completing the ordering process so I'll include it here.

How to Find the iPhoto Generated PDF File:
1 - Start the ordering process and stop after the book has been assembled and you get to the Order pane where you select the cover color, copies, etc.
2 - Go to the Finder and select the Go->Go to Folder menu item (CommandShiftG).

3 - copy the following, “/private/var/tmp/folders.501/TemporaryItems/iPhoto” (for Panther the path is ‘/private/tmp/501/TemporaryItems/iPhoto “), and paste into the Go to Folder search box.

4 - the iPhoto folder will be brought up. In it will be the PDF file that was generated by iPhoto. You can copy it (Option-drag) to the Desktop to review and/or save.

Note: the iPhoto folder will not exist before you start the ordering process and is deleted after the order is completed or after you cancel the order and quit iPhoto.

Just be sure to copy the file to the desktop, not move it. You can keep the ordering process on hold while you open it and check it out with Preview.

Hope this has been of some help. Good luck.

OT

Hi There,
Re moving up and down vs. side to side- do you know why it doesn't let me move side to side on a portrait picture? It is cropping part of the picture on one side and yet, if it has to crop, I would prefer it did the other side, so I try to pan it across, but id only lets me go up and down!