Re: Resizing photos to 1920 x 1920 to fit CafeAsk regulations

First you have to crop the photos to a square configuration in iPhoto. Then export the photos with the following requirements:

Format=JPEG

Size = Custom, maximum dimension = 1920 pixels.

Set the other settings as you require, i.e JPEG Quality and File Name.

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The resulting exported jpeg file will be 1920 x 1920 pixels in size.

OT

You can't. If you need a square photo with a black border you must add space around the original photo to make it square and then resize to 1920. You would need a 3rd party image editor that handles layers to do that. Some are:

Some Image Editors that support layers:

Photoshop Elements 9 for Mac - $79
GraphicConverter - $45
Rainbow Painter - $30
Imagerie - $38
Acorn - $50 Pixelmator - $60

Seashore - Free

Portraits and Prints - Free

GIMP for Mac - Free

I'm partial to Photoshop Elements for Mac. I think you get more bang for the buck with it. Some of the advance edits it can do are:

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You can download a 30 day demo version of PSE 9 to try out to see if you want to keep it.

When you open the photo in PSE go to Image ➙ Canvas Size. Then set the size to a square that's larger then the photo so you get enough space around the photo to produce a black border. You may have to crop it a bit and then use the Image ➙ File size to set the pixel dimensions to 1920 x 1920 at 72 dpi. Then do a save as and save it as a jpg file.

Once you get to PSE9 the following tips might be of some help if you plan on sticking with it:

Using Photoshop CS3 (or Photoshop Elements) as Your Editor of Choice in iPhoto 11.

1 - select Photoshop as your editor of choice in iPhoto's Advanced Preference Section's under the "Edit photo:" menu.

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2 - double click on the thumbnail in iPhoto to open it in Photoshop. When you're finished editing click on the Save button. If you immediately get the JPEG Options window make your selection (Baseline standard seems to be the most compatible jpeg format) and click on the OK button. Your done.

3 - however, if you get the navigation window

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that indicates that PS wants to save it as a PS formatted file. You'll need to either select JPEG from the menu and save (top image) or click on the desktop in the Navigation window (bottom image) and save it to the desktop for importing as a new photo.

This method will let iPhoto know that the photo has been editied and will update the thumbnail file to reflect the edit..

NOTE: With Photoshop Elements 9 the Saving File preferences should be configured as shown:

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s I also suggest the Maximize PSD File Compatabilty be set to Always. In PSE’s General preference pane set the Color Picker to Apple as shown:

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NOTE: If you want to use both iPhoto's editing mode and PS/PSE without having to go back and forth to the Preference pane, once you've selected PS as your editor of choice, reset the Preferences back to "Open in iPhoto". That will let you either edit in iPhoto using the Edit button or Control-clicking on the thumbnail and selecting "Edit in iPhoto" or in PS/PSE by Control-clicking on the thumbnail and selecting "Edit in External Editor" in the Contextual menu.

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This way you get the best of both worlds.

If you're running iPhoto 09 let me know and I'll post the tips for that version. It's nearly the same except for the last screenshot.

Good idea using Pages. A lot can be done with it and photos.

What size are the photos currently?

You can resize the images in the Export dialogue.

Regards

TD