keystone, cropping, resolution in PS Elements

[RosieP1]

Hi,

I have taken photos of my mother's artwork and want to print it in a book for her grandchildren. The photos are not super high quality, are currently in JPG format, and I need to edit many of them to correct the keystone effect and crop them. As I understand it, the first step should be to convert them to TIF so that my edits won't further degrade the resolution.

It appears that Photoshop Elements can correct keystoning and crop. My question is, will it also preserve resolution (once I convert the files to TIF format) as well as Photoshop would, or should I go ahead and buy Photoshop? We just want the highest print quality we can get given the photos we currently have.

I should mention, in case it's relevant, that my niece is a graphic artist, has Photoshop, and will be enhancing the photos (contrast, coloring) after I'm done correcting any keystone effects and cropping them. So my output will be her input.

Thanks in advance,

Rosie

[Subject line edited by moderator to include "PS Elements" because the thread was incorrectly moved to Photoshop earlier.]

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[hatstead]

Be advised that this  forum is dedicated to Photoshop Elements. Suggest that you post in the Photoshop forum.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/bd-p/photoshop?page=1&sort=latest_replies&filter=all

[jane-e]

You might want to use the 7-day free trial of PS to see if it meets your needs.

Your question, though, was "Can PE do these things?" Someone moved your thread to the PS forum. Do you want us to move it back?

[RosieP1]

I realize I could do a trial of Photoshop Elements and a trial of Photoshop and try to determine if they both result in the same quality. But I'm no expert, am not even sure how to determine quality, and was hoping to get expert advice beforehand to save myself the trouble.

And yes, my question is for Photoshop Elements. Please move it back.

Thanks!

[jane-e]

Hi Rosie,

You're welcome. I've put your post back to where you had it originally and changed the subject line, so it should stay here. I don't use PS Elements, but someone here should be able to help you.

~ Jane

[hatstead]

In Photoshop Elements, you can determine the resolution of the photofiles via Image>Resize>Image size.. The resolution can be changed readily by resampling. For printing, it is desirable to have the resolution at 240-300px/in range.

Since you are going to be using the crop tool, you can set the resolution value on the tool's option bar.

Changing file type from JPEG to TIFF is your choice, but I doubt that there will be perceptible degradation by enhancing/saving the JPEG a couple of times.

[RosieP1]

Thanks for your response.

Here's the thing: the files are not the best quality to begin with, so I don't want to take a chance on degrading them further if all it takes is to convert to TIFF. Is there a disadvantage to doing so, apart from the extra work? I'm told that each time a JPEG file is saved, there's some loss. 

Also, as I understand it (and I could be wrong), I can't magically upgrade the true resolution of a file just by resetting its resolution value. But if I'm wrong, please let me know!

My original question was whether Photoshop Elements could do everything that I wanted without any loss of quality. I could experiment, of course, but I'm not even sure what to look for and was hoping someone in the community could clarify for me whether Photoshop Elements will be enough for what I'm looking for, without any loss of quality. Thank you!

[jane-e]

Hi Rosie,

I do not use PS Elements — but having moved your thread back after someone moved it to the Photoshop forum, I am now on it. I use Photoshop.

You have been told correctly to never resave a jpeg, as the format is lossy and it loses information each time it is saved. It will not degrade the image further to convert to tiff, and there is no disadvantage to the tiff format. The tiff format is lossless, meaning it does not lose information when it is saved, and it supports layers (jpeg does not). When you can work in layers, you can do editing that is non-destructive.

The workflow should be that you work in tiff (or psd), then if you need a jpeg, you save it. Edits are made in the tiff (or psd), followed by saving a new jpeg. Don't edit the jpeg and resave it.

You are also correct that you cannot magically upgrade the resolution of a file. You can't create pixels that aren't there. You are getting good advice from someone who knows these things.

I don't know if Elements can do all this, and I hope someone can answer your question here. If you decide to go with Photoshop, there is a Photographer's plan. It's an annual plan, billed at $9.99 per month.

If you still have access to your mother's artwork, is it possible to retake the photos and get a better quality, high resolution photo?

Best of luck,

Jane

[RosieP1]

Thank you very much, Jane!

[RosieP1]

I missed your last question, Jane. I'm reluctant to retake all those photos (over 100) and I don't have a better camera, so I would really need to hire someone to do it. I don't think it would be worth it, but of course if the book looks awful, I may have to go that route....

[jane-e]

Hi Rosie,

These may help with fixing the keystoning using Elements:

https://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-fix-keystone-issues-in-photoshop-elements/

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-elements/fix-keystone-distortion/td-p/9612450?page=1

https://digitalscrapper.com/downloads/digi-scrap-tutorial/2012-03-27-Keystone-Correction-el.pdf

Cropping should be straightforward.

~ Jane

[RosieP1]

Wonderful. Thank you again, Jane!

[hatstead]

There are so many variables here that it is impossible for me to assure you that you will end up with the "perfect" scrap-book.

1. The JPEG/TIFF file conversion is ok, On a dummy file, print one in each file format and see if you can tell the difference. 

2. Photoshop Elements is a powerful consumer product which is operator dependent. Full Photoshop has additional capability which your niece, the ghraphic artist, will hopefully use to best advantage. Again, operator dependent.

3. You state that the original artwork is not the best quality. We don't know whether or not these are scans or carefully photographed renditions under controlled circumstances - lighting, focus, depth of field, sharpness.

4. If you are so inclined, feel free to  post a representative sample of the artwork for us to look at.

[RosieP1]

Thanks for your response.
My comments inline:

*>>1. The JPEG/TIFF file conversion is ok, On a dummy file, print one in
each file format and see if you can tell the difference. *

I have to add one more variable to the list! The company which will print
our book does not offer "sample pages." I'll have to do the best I can and
then order a book to see how it looks.

*>>2. Photoshop Elements is a powerful consumer product which is operator
dependent. Full Photoshop has additional capability which your niece, the
graphic artist, will hopefully use to best advantage. Again, operator
dependent.*

Glad to hear Photoshop Elements is a powerful consumer product. For the
features I'm focusing on (correcting keystone effect and cropping), is
there any difference in the result assuming the operator (me) does things
correctly?

*>>3. You state that the original artwork is not the best quality. We don't
know whether or not these are scans or carefully photographed renditions
under controlled circumstances - lighting, focus, depth of field,
sharpness.*

I took photos of the artwork under the best lighting I could muster with a
decent camera but did not doing any adjusting--just point and shoot.

*>>4. If you are so inclined, feel free to post a representative sample of
the artwork for us to look at.*

That's a kind offer! I've sent the files to my niece for now and will see
what she says.

Thanks very much!