Making a action to resizing

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

How do I make an action to run on my pictures to resize to an 8x12 at 300 while keeping their same orientation?

[Damien Symonds]

Oh, it's tricky.

May I have some more information?  For what purpose are you setting this up?

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

Selling some digitals at a smaller size and I have about 78 to do. Thought if their was an action, it would save me a ton of time.

[Damien Symonds]

Selling them to whom?

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

my clients, for high school seniors 

[Damien Symonds]

You MUST read these two articles:

https://www.damiensymonds.net/2011/02/selling-digital-images.html

https://www.damiensymonds.net/2015/07/selling-digital-files-you-cant-limit.html

I will help you with your batching, but NOT until you assure me you understand why what you've been doing is wrong.  NEVER give 8x12 @ 300 files.

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

Yes I have read the first one before and again just now and I am aware that they will try to print larger that is part of why I have never really wanted to sell digital and that fact that they may look like crap from any other printer beside my pro lab of choice. It's a good thing I just started to sell digitals and that I can quit as soon as I want.  Why is it WRONG to sell them a certain sized digital tho?; because of the facts you and I both know of that they will try to print larger and loss of quality?

[Damien Symonds]

Read the article again.  And again, and again.  Until you understand.  All the info is there.

[Damien Symonds]

The 11:15 shape is SO important.

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

I get it, I get it, I get it! I wasn't all for selling digitals for everything you have mentioned mostly "I am the creator and why would I want someone to change my work"

I am not trying to argue on anything but to simply understand more; but my pictures come out closer to a 4x6 ratio so that is why I wanted to leave it as that ratio so when they go to print, they will see what they would/could be loosing if they want an 8x10.  I don't want to do any cropping before they get the digital.

I also tried to make an action to resize to a 4x6 with my sharpening for print but when I ran it I didn't remember about orientation so of course all these half pictures with white borders appeared. So this action that I could create or one like it will also help me when my client orders 80 4x6  prints that I have to sharpen for that size and order for them.

[Damien Symonds]

1 minute ago, Rhonda Tjernlund said:

I am not trying to argue on anything but to simply understand more; but my pictures come out closer to a 4x6 ratio so that is why I wanted to leave it as that ratio so when they go to print, they will see what they would/could be loosing if they want an 8x10.  I don't want to do any cropping before they get the digital.

No, you clearly still don't get it.  Read it again.

[Damien Symonds]

Your photos are going to be cropped.  That is the truth.  It's much better that YOU crop them, don't leave it to your clients.

You sure as hell wouldn't give unedited photos to your clients and say "it's ok, they'll edit them for me, I'm sure they'll do a good job."  Would you?

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

Well if they are buying the digitals , they can print in what ever size  they want and I won't know what size they want and i don't care that is why I don't want to crop off any

[Damien Symonds]

That's right, they can print whatever size they want.  Therein lies the risk in selling digital files.  Depending on their chosen print size, there will be cropping.  Are they qualified to crop YOUR photos to look their best?  Of course not.  No more than they are qualified to edit your photos.  That's why YOU must do it.

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

fine forget about the digitals.  Is their a way to make an action to size my digital to a 4x6, sharpen for print, and keep the orientation ?

[Damien Symonds]

What is it that you don't understand about this, Rhonda?  Why can't you understand the importance of the 11:15  crop?

[Damien Symonds]

Does this one help?  https://www.damiensymonds.net/art_proofs.html

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

I get that it is the middle ground of the 2 but if I crop to 11:15 and then again to an 8x10, is that gonna crop off more then if I were to crop from an 8x12 down to a 8x10?

[Damien Symonds]

YOU'RE not the one who's going to crop it to 8x10.  Your client is, or their printer.  You understand that part, yes?

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

YES!!!!

 

[Damien Symonds]

Ok, good.  That's some progress, at least.

And do you understand that your client, or their printer, are VERY unlikely to pause to consider your composition when cropping?  They'll just use the exact centre section of the photo, yes?

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

YES!!!!

[Damien Symonds]

Excellent.  More progress.

And you understand the risk inherent in this?  That the top of somebody's head could easily be chopped off, in a portrait photo for example?  Or any other random limb chop that you yourself would NEVER allow in your own work?

[Rhonda Tjernlund]

YES!!!!

[Damien Symonds]

Good.

And do you acknowledge that the most bulletproof way to prevent this potential 8x10 problem would be to actually crop the client's files to 8x10 for them?