Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Can i take a picture of a picture for enlargement?
Is it possible to take a digital picture of a high quality 11x14 photo so that printers can take digital image and print out at around 40x50"? I plan to frame & hang enlargement at the head of my dining room table so it will typically be viewed from a few feet away, but should look OK up close as well. My 11x14 was printed with museum quality archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper, with high detail (not taken with a camera phone) & in perfect condition.
I originally had my 11x14 photo digitized professionally at super high MP. The printer reviewed digitized image and their assessment was: the digitized photo is a huge file but the enlarged print would not be suitable for close-up viewing (ok at 6 feet). They said the digitization process adds fake data so lots of detail would be lost when i tried to print at larger size.
Hoping all the stellar photogs, artists, printers & graphic designers out there have a super genius idea to help! PS - the camera i was going to borrow for my experiment is a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor Nikon camera (?) or something like that....
The problem you will have is that if the camera and lens are sharp enough to make a good quality image of your print, they will also show the grain of the paper when enlarged that much. It's up to you to decide if that is acceptable or not. The camera is not as important as the lens. To make a good copy of a print with a camera, you will need a lens that has very low dispersion in the glass and no softening at the edges, i.e. a Nikon 50 1.2 lens would work while a Nikon 18-55 zoom lens will not.
Thank you for your reply, that's good to know! I'll ask around to see if anyone i know has that type of lens - it looks a little pricey so i'm guessing friends & family have probably gone with a less expensive option.
Any other options? Maybe i could buy a lens 'soft focus' filter or something like that....?
Well, I've described two different problems. The first is the fact that you'll pick up the paper grain. That happens when you have a sharp lens. The second is the fact that unless you use a sharp lens, the image you get may be too soft to make a large print. These are mutually exclusive problems. So if you want to go on and make the print, you need to decide what is more important to you, whether you will see the grain of the paper, or make a soft image. There is no way to correct both problems at the same time.
Can i take a picture of a picture for enlargement?
I used to work in a printing shop, many years ago but trying to get an 11x14 photo enlarged to 40x50" inches is not going to be satisfactory for many if any people... There will be a major loss in image quality, especially at a close distance.
All depends, so I would say that the OP could very well print such an image since all depends on the camera's resolution. For example, take a look at a camera with a 12MP sensor, and see how much you can enlarge the photo as much as he wants, taking into consideration the print quality (just follow the chart). https://photographyicon.com/enlarge/
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,351 posts, read 8,569,440 times
Reputation: 16698
Sorry, in this case it has little to do with the camera resolution so the above post is incorrect. It isn't so much the camera quality as it the limitation of the original 11x14 print quality. For example if it was a group of people each head is going to be small and limited in detail. Take the highest resolution camera you want and you will never be any sharper or more detailed than the original. The same applies to the lens. Getting the sharpest lens will not make a difference.
If the viewing distance of say 5 feet is used for the 11x14 and the image looks adequate, making it into a 40 x 50 will appear blurrier at the same distance. You will have to move back much further before it appears adequate again visually.
The rule of garbage in garbage out applies here.
Most of the posts here might apply if it was an original capture and not rephotographing a print.
Sorry, in this case it has little to do with the camera resolution so the above post is incorrect. It isn't so much the camera quality as it the limitation of the original 11x14 print quality. For example if it was a group of people each head is going to be small and limited in detail. Take the highest resolution camera you want and you will never be any sharper or more detailed than the original. The same applies to the lens. Getting the sharpest lens will not make a difference.
If the viewing distance of say 5 feet is used for the 11x14 and the image looks adequate, making it into a 40 x 50 will appear blurrier at the same distance. You will have to move back much further before it appears adequate again visually.
The rule of garbage in garbage out applies here.
Most of the posts here might apply if it was an original capture and not rephotographing a print.
I stand corrected. I didn't read the OP's questions carefully, and assumed that he had a digital photograph he wanted to print to a large size, not that he wanted to take a photo of a printed photo and then print it to a larger size than the original.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,351 posts, read 8,569,440 times
Reputation: 16698
Quote:
Originally Posted by RayinAK
I stand corrected. I didn't read the OP's questions carefully, and assumed that he had a digital photograph he wanted to print to a large size, not that he wanted to take a photo of a printed photo and then print it to a larger size than the original.
Totally understandable.
It's no problem to get a large image made from it, but the op wanted to see detail when they looked at it closeup under the impression making it larger would show more.
I had a customer send me a not too sharp print and wanted it to look like 30 inch print I had photographed and printed for them of their other daughter. I had to explain why it wouldn't look like the same.
They still wanted it and it was a blurry mess, but they still liked it. As long as they are happy.
Totally understandable.
It's no problem to get a large image made from it, but the op wanted to see detail when they looked at it closeup under the impression making it larger would show more.
I had a customer send me a not too sharp print and wanted it to look like 30 inch print I had photographed and printed for them of their other daughter. I had to explain why it wouldn't look like the same.
They still wanted it and it was a blurry mess, but they still liked it. As long as they are happy.
You are correct. A duplicate, regardless if being a scan or a photo, is not as sharp as the original photo. One can do a good job with a scanner, but again it picks all the imperfections from the photo (dust, scratches, and so on), and to get all of that stuff off the scan makes it less sharp. If I well remember VueScan has a scanner calibration feature. I use the Pro version, but I haven't looked into it long enough (just upgraded a couple of weeks ago).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
