When modern cameras take pictures, they are taken so that they are in a 2:3 ratio. This means that the long side is 1.5 times longer than the short side. The images that you receive when you purchase digital files from me are in this native ratio. When you are printing in any combination of the 2:3 ratio, your image will print exactly as you see it on the screen. Common sizes at this ratio are 4x6, 8x12 and 16x24.
When you are printing, you are often given many more options that just the 2:3 ratio. If I believe that an image should be printed in a certain way, I will often give you this suggestion in addition to the native file on your USB. For example, this image would lend itself nicely to a square print.
Some images cannot be printed well at certain sizes. This image is beautiful at the native ratio of 2:3
However, if we print it as a 5x7", we get too close to the subject and the print won't look optimal.
If we print it at 8x10", we now lose some of the image and it is ruined.
So please take this into account when you are selecting images for your walls and when you are printing at the lab or online. This following image shows how much of the image will be seen at these common sizes.
