Using a Plopper in Adobe Photoshop

[Kara]

I guess I am just a silly girl! I have a plopper and I have a picture that I want to put onto the plopper. I copied and pasted the photo, it was so tiny, it did not fit the box on the plopper. Do I have to measure or did I do something wrong?

Thanks

[Emma]

Two things you need to check:

first, make sure the two images are the same zoom factor
second, make sure the two images are the same resolution

If those are the same, then check the dimensions. If you've taken the photo or saved it on poor quality like 72dpi, it will be much smaller than the Plopper at 200dpi

(if you crop the photo first and you have a low resolution entered into the Options Bar at the top of the screen, it'll crop it to that smaller size. Then on the 200dpi layout a 72dpi image will be squished down to be 200dpi, so much, much smaller than the original)

If that doesn't solve the problem, describe more of your procedure and we'll help you solve it

[Kara]

Thank you Emma. Sorry for so many elementary questions.

I am viewing the plopper at 24%, when I attempt to view my photo at the same percent it is very small. I am not sure How to tell from Adobe Photoshop what the DPI or resolution of my photos are. Can you tell me how to find that info?

Thank you

[Emma]

I am viewing the plopper at 24%, when I attempt to view my photo at the same percent it is very small. I am not sure How to tell from Adobe Photoshop what the DPI or resolution of my photos are. Can you tell me how to find that info?No problems! We were all newbies once. My sister can tell you how many frantic, screaming emails about, "Where's the drop shadow?!"
Go to Image>Image Size, and it'll show you in the boxes. You can also resize it in this box if needed. If making it a lot larger, then it'll be pixellated and wont print well, but for non-print/monitor based, it'll have to do.

Let me know what size it is (and hopefully you have an original that's better quality, crossing my fingers!)

[Kara]

Plopper - 12x12 | Resolution 300
The photo - 8.889 X 6.677 | Resolution 72

So with all of this, I guess if I want to use ploppers and kits, I should start taking my digital photos on the highest (largest) setting ?

With my camera, I have it set for a lower setting so I can take more pictures, I dont think this will work for scrapping, I think I will need to change it to the higher settings, I have the following options available on my camera
2048X1536 | 1600X1200 | 1024X768 | 640X480

Thank you for all your help!!!

PS
My goal is to create a scrapbook of my new nephew and send it to DP to be made into a printed book, so I can give it as a XMAS gift.

[Emma]

With my camera, I have it set for a lower setting so I can take more pictures, I dont think this will work for scrapping, I think I will need to change it to the higher settings, I have the following options available on my camera
2048X1536 | 1600X1200 | 1024X768 | 640X480
1:4 compression, or Fine quality is what we use. I don't know the pixel size of that. The low quality is described as "Basic quality, suitable only for electronic distribution" and then there's normal for snapshot printing, then Fine for "Suitable for enlargements or high quality prints"
These are all JPG settings. Most have 2 highter settings, one in TIF format, and a higher one in RAW format.

For scrapping, you need at least the fine, and for really nice art-quality portraits, etc, most pros use RAW, but I haven't even thought about going there yet!

We should start a thread on how to repair your small photos so they can be printed.
You may be able to enlarge and run them through Neat Image (I've never used it, but I think it's free) to clean them up, and perhaps you should think about making a mini album in 4x6" size. There's not really a way to make them higher quality, but you can mess with them and try to get the best results.

Hopefully all this made sense. Let me know if you have any other questions, but first set your camera to a higher setting :)
We might take this to the Photography forum for some specifics on repairing the images as much as possible. Sounds like a wonderful gift!

[Kara]

Emma -

Now that I have take a picture in the SupeFine setting at a large setting, do I resize the photo before I copy and paste? Or will I be able to resize just the photo after I paste it on the plopper? :-) Also when using a plopper, I don't need to worry about layers, right?

Thanks :-)
Slowly getting there :-)

[Emma]

Kara, you are SUCH a candidate for my PS class ;) Starting in November!

My Fine photos are at 300 dpi, so I crop it, then use the Move Tool to drag it onto my Plopper. It's usually larger than the Plopper, and since it's on its own layer, I hit Ctrl-T to resize it (Edit>Transform>Free Transform). Hold down the Shift key while dragging it smaller.

If the Plopper has a hole in it, put the photo on the layer below the Plopper. If there's no hole, just a space, then put the photo on a layer above the Plopper.

[Kara]

Where do I sign up for the class? I need it :-) :D

I will try the instructions tonight and report back, thank you again.

Thank you

[Kara]

Emma Emma! Thank you! It worked yeah!

I am going to take your class when it is available. Thank you thank you :-)

[BeccaB]

Kara,

I am very new at digital scrapbooking, but I have been using a digital camera for several years. I use the 1600x1200 setting most of the time. In theory, at this size, good quality prints up to 11x14 can be made. I have only actually printed up to 8x10 and they have turned out great. They also look great full screen on my 19 inch monitor.

A couple times I bumped the setting up to the highest setting (2048x1536) when taking scenery pictures. Although I have not done it, I wanted to make sure that they were good enough quality to blow up to hang on the wall.

Needless to say, I several extra memory sticks so that I never run out of room.

Hope this helps!

[Kara]

Thank you Becca. Becca are you working with ploppers now or page kits?


Kara,

I am very new at digital scrapbooking, but I have been using a digital camera for several years. I use the 1600x1200 setting most of the time. In theory, at this size, good quality prints up to 11x14 can be made. I have only actually printed up to 8x10 and they have turned out great. They also look great full screen on my 19 inch monitor.

A couple times I bumped the setting up to the highest setting (2048x1536) when taking scenery pictures. Although I have not done it, I wanted to make sure that they were good enough quality to blow up to hang on the wall.

Needless to say, I several extra memory sticks so that I never run out of room.

Hope this helps!

[BeccaB]

I pulled one picture into the Sepia plopper that was DSP's freebie a few weeks ago, but have not dressed it up or posted it. I have only made a few pages so far using freebie elements from this site and others.

I guess I am waiting to figure out my style before I buy a bunch of stuff. When I started paper scrapbooking amost a year ago, I bought a ton of stuff that I thought was cute, but now realize that I will never use it. The pink scraps of color CD that is on sell this week is looking interesting.

[Emma]

I guess I am waiting to figure out my style before I buy a bunch of stuff. When I started paper scrapbooking amost a year ago, I bought a ton of stuff that I thought was cute, but now realize that I will never use it. The pink scraps of color CD that is on sell this week is looking interesting.
Using kits is a great way to get started, smart idea. You can learn your software without getting frustrated trying to create realistic things.
You might try taking a class here, Becca: you're using PSP, so there's only one right now, but hopefully some more soon.
Also, following the tutorials are a great way to learn your software. Once you have a better feel for that, you can discover your style.

Also, on the Pink CD, you can change the color of anything on that CD! The Intro to PSP class has a lot of ways to change colors and alter premade elements, so don't feel limited to pink. They can become just about whatever you want!

Another thing you can do is look in the DSP Product gallery, find something you like, then purchase that kit. The Quick Crop gallery is also great as there are many free kits in there. If it's one of mine I'm more than happy to send it to you