What should be my process for .tif to .jpg in its final size?

[Hmmokthen]

Hi,

I have a .tif and I need to resize the image and save as a .jpg. Should I resize in photoshop (and re-sharpen to counter any softness caused by the re-sizing) then import into Lightroom and export using output sharpening OR can I import the wrong-sized tif into Lightroom and just export the tif as a jpg with the altered dimensions and output sharpening in one go? — Im not concerned about the time factor, just if the quality will be affected. thanks

[richardplondon]

My advice would be, import the image in original form and then have LrC perform any alterations and then export processing all in one go (output sharpening being integral to that).

There is no benefit IMO in having PS save an intermediate, output-specific file. To the contrary, it is best IMO to regard everything imported within LrC as output-neutral. Whenever you may in future want differently sized or specified output, or differently cropped or straightened, you can just export accordingly. Only the specifically needed resampling will have then happened, and only happening to that eventual output, without cumulatively affecting your photo.

[Hmmokthen]

thanks, I always thought you were meant to sharpen after re-sizing. So you are saying that by exporting as a different size from LR and using the "output sharpening" settings (keeping in mind the file is a TIF not a RAW), I will be fine and the resizing at export will not soften my image?

[richardplondon]

Output sharpening takes proper account of the relationship between starting pixel dimensions and output dimensions, and does so on the fly. If you like, it builds into each resize an appropriate level of compensation for resize softening, intelligently. 

So, the character of sharpening that you see previewed in the Develop module (as judged at 1:1 zoom on screen) can be replicated, or slightly enhanced, or not, for export.

You would need to confirm which output sharpening setting you like the results of aesthetically, by trial and error. But then that same setting will in my experience always deliver a perceptually constant relationship between how sharpened the edits on your originals 'look' inside the Catalog, and how sharpened output made from that 'looks'. Even despite these originals perhaps varying in their resolution as cropped, AND even though your outputs may happen to varying pixel dimensions too.

There is no need to dedicate the edited image seen in Develop for any particular output specification. Different outputs will bring different practical requirements, but that can be addressed in the respective Export (or Print) settings.

Sometimes a version of an image must be dedicated for particular output nonetheless - not so much in terms of output sharpening, but perhaps a different crop or some special visual editing. In that case I would recommend either a virtual copy, or else (which practically amounts to the same) using SoftProof to generate a virtual proofing copy. For screen viewing purposes, in my opinion soft proofing is not necessary. You should in any case be using a hardware calibrated display that gives you a reliable consistent impression of your edited image, and that should prove sufficient.

[Hmmokthen]

thanks for the info. Turns out after all that LR will not export into A3 size. My image is 5339 x 3310 pixels, which means to resize into 4961x 3508px (a3 size) one edge will be shortened and the other edge enlarged. LR just flat out refuses to do this. Does that sound correct?

[GoldingD]

thanks for the info. Turns out after all that LR will not export into A3 size. My image is 5339 x 3310 pixels, which means to resize into 4961x 3508px (a3 size) one edge will be shortened and the other edge enlarged. LR just flat out refuses to do this. Does that sound correct?

By @Hmmokthen

Actuallyconsider your crop before considering an export dimension . Now remember that in LrC cropping is relative not absolute, that is you crop at say a ratio of 8x10, not 8 inch by 10 inch. Yes I know, not A3 size, just an example.

So say you want to print on 8 inch by 10 inch paper, but if you export, you cannot get it to fit. Solution is to crop first to 8x10, then export that.

But how to get A3, Ok, so A3 is  what? 11.7 in x 16.5? Crop to 117x165, then export, then print.

Oh if you desire various print sizes, consider a virtual copy(s) then crop.

[Hmmokthen]

thanks for the reply. what im essentially trying to do is to make taller and thinner my image. I dont believe LR cropping will do that

[richardplondon]

"Taller" is about scaling. It's sometimes assessed in physical terms (inches or centimetres @ a certain ppi) but more often with digital images  it's assessed directly in absolute pixel dimensions, for example an image might be 1200px tall. And that scaling would be specified in the Resizing section of the Export settings - or else in the image cell specifications when printing.

"Thinner" is about shape. We might say of two people that they look equally "thin", even though one is 2m tall and weighs 100kg, and the other is much less tall and weighs 50kg. We are saying their body proportions are similar. And that shape in LrC is set by the image's Crop; only removing picture information of course, not adding more than was present in the original capture.

All that said, there is a Transform panel where you can (somewhat) distort the image's natural appearance. If there is a certain crop shape you want for the output but the picture in its natural presentation cannot include quite what you want into that boundary, you can (for instance) make the whole photo look more squat or more stretched by changing the Aspect slider. A slightly different selection from the original capture will then show within this constant crop boundary.

So that involves a stylistic decision. I've have noticed that often people are uncomfortable (consciously or unconsciously) seeing this kind of distortion though. They might dislike it on aesthetic grounds - or on 'faithfulness to the subject' grounds - or both.

[GoldingD]

I assume that you have some form of publishing in mind. That you want a JPEG to publish. That brings u a question, where do you want to publish:

• To your printer
• To A print service (Bay Photo, MPIX, WhiteWall, etc)
• To the cloud (DropBox, iCloud, Creative Cloud, etc)
• To a social site (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Toc, Twitter, etc)
• To a web site of your own
• To A photo share service (Behance, Fhotomerchant, Flickr, Instagram, Photbucket, Pixpa, Smugmug, etc)
• Other
  

[Hmmokthen]

a pro printer, exporting at 300ppi. thanks

[Conrad_C]

The quality should be fine from either application. If you want to see if Lightroom Classic will do a good enough job, do an export test and look at it. If none of the output sharpening settings are quite right, then in the Develop module, try adjusting the Detail panel Sharpening settings. If specific parts of the image need more sharpening, apply Sharpening through a mask.

The only reason to use Photoshop is to use the more advanced sharpening techniques that can’t be done in Lightroom Classic, like the ones where you have to build a group of layers and masks with blending modes to get exactly what you want (e.g. frequency separation or the High Pass technique). But many images don’t need all of that.

[Hmmokthen]

thanks, i use smart sharpen in the original-size tif

[Conrad_C]

If you’re using Smart Sharpen in Photoshop, then the Lightroom Classic Sharpening controls in the Detail panel might work just as well. Both are more modern features that try to focus sharpening on luminance and edges, which is better than the older Unsharp Mask command in Photoshop.