How to Optimize Pictures For Digital Photo Printing

If you are planning on using a free online photo album service and digital photo printing for your pictures, there are a few things that you need to know ahead of time to make sure that the results are exactly what you want.

Digital photo printing is just like regular photo processing, but the added advantage is that you can change your photos anyway that you would like, and see how they will look, before you actually get them printed.

Here's what you need to know about optimizing your pictures ahead of time.

Step One - Scan in your photo if necessary. If you don't have your picture already on disc or on a digital camera, you'll need to scan in the original. A flatbed scanner will work best for this, to reduce any warping of the picture. Most scanners come with image software that will allow you to easily import the photo on to your computer.

Step Two - Open the picture in a photo editor. It is a good idea to take a look at your photos before you send them in for digital photo printing. This will give you a chance to see if there is anything wrong with the picture before you send it in. Typically, you may need to:

Rotate the Picture - Some cameras and scanners will produce images that are upside down. You can easily fix this by using a rotate tool in photo editing software. Just click the rotate button until the picture is right side up.

Remove Red Eye - This is a common problem, even in digital pictures. If you don't want the red eye effect to appear on photos, you'll need to do some correction. Today's editing software for photos usually comes with a feature that makes this very easy. When you're done removing the effect, you can save the image and it will be ready for digital photo printing.

Correcting Colors/Hue/Saturation - Sometimes, a photo may not be perfect. Before you send it for digital photo printing, you may need to adjust the color, hue or saturation. This can easily be done in photo editing software. Open the image, and look for the tool that will adjust these settings. Typically, there will be a slider bar that will let you play around with the settings until you are happy with the finished results.

Setting the Quality of the Image - In order to get great results with digital photo printing, you'll need to have a high quality file. When you're ready to save your photo, make sure that you use a .jpg or .gif extension. Your software should ask you how high you want the quality to be. Select the highest value and finish saving the image.

Once you've completed these steps, you'll be assured that your images will be perfect when you upload them to your free online photo album service for digital photo printing. The results are typically much better than traditional photo processing and it's always nice to be able to fix problems before you have the photo printed.

Author - MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Hoorray, a photo sharing site that offers the quickest and easiest way to create a free online photo album.