To get the best printed images from Fine Art America, you need to take care that your files are appropriate. That especially means proper file size. Here are some guidelines, along with some tips, to get the best results.
File format and size
What size file should you upload to Fine Art America? The largest size your camera creates is the easy answer but let’s take a look at a few best practices. I recommend photographing in RAW and then processing and clean up your images of dust spots or other anomalies.
If you shoot with JPEGs straight out of camera, your file may initially look better than a RAW file capture. That’s because all of the information presented to the sensor is there. Adjustments need to be made to increase contrast and enhance color.
With an in-camera JPEG you have already compressed the file and lost some pixels. If there were any exposure, color or corrective issues to be fixed, when you save the file again your are compressing the image again. Starting with RAW you have more file information with which to work without loosing quality.
Work with the native resolution of your camera. Obviously, a larger sensor camera will give you more pixels. Do not upsize in Photoshop or other programs to increase the file size. Fine Art America only takes JPEG files. TIFF, PNG, GIF or other files formats are not acceptable.
Don’t worry about PPI or DPI in your settings. Look at the number of pixels that are in the file. Make sure that your camera was not set for a smaller file size. A 600×800 pixel file may look fine on your computer screen but it can not make a larger print as the pixels will become too large the image will look blurry. The saved jpeg file should be in the sRGB or Adobe 1998 color space and no larger than 25 MB. Save the file at the highest quality setting available. If the output file size is over 25 MB you can lower the quality setting from 12 to 10 if using Photoshop.
Take a look at my previous post on how to get the most from Fine Art America so you can get started right away.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
