Resizing Photos to Match my Video Project

[janicem73443394]

Hello,

I've been making a video project for my daughter's wedding.  I'm adding copies of various types of photos.  I've used batch resizing to 1000 pixels width.  The initial photos that I used all fit into the timeline nicely.  Then, I decided to add some text to a couple of photos.  I did this by editing the photos in Photoshop Elements 15 using the T button.  I then resized the photos to 1000 pixels width and imported them to my timeline in Premiere Elements 15.  They all came in too large to view in the timeline.  I tried resizing them to 750 width, but they also came in too large.  I then tried adding new photos that did not have any text added, and they are all coming in too large.  The only thing I have done since I processed the initial photos is to install Quicktime on my computer.  I'd like to have the new photos work on my timeline.  Any suggestions?

Thanks,

J Mac

[Bill Sprague]

"Resizing", "scaling" and "cropping" are terms that get used and misused.   I get them confused frequently!

For video projects with photos I do two things.  I crop to match the video and be sure the "Default scale to frame size" box in Preferences is checked.   HD videos are 16x9 ratio, so in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or Lightroom I set the crop to that. 

My understanding of "resizing" is that a big photo file with a lot of pixels can be turned into a smaller file with fewer pixels but the crop ratio remains the same. 

My personal experience with a relatively strong computer is that resizing to reduce file size and processing is not necessary.

I suspect that in your case you need to check the "scale" box and crop the picture to 16x9 before you put in the title.  The other way to do it is to bring the photo into Premiere Elements and add a title there. 

Hope I'm helping.

Bill

[janicem73443394]

whsprague,

Thanks for your response. Yes...the concepts of resizing, scaling, and cropping are very confusing for me. It is taking me some time to understand the process you suggested.

I'm not using HD video, so I need to know what the ratio would be for standard video. Also, when I hit the scale button, it gives me two boxes to fill in, I'm not sure what units to use.

Your help is much appreciated!

Thanks,

Jan

[Peru Bob]

janicem73443394  wrote

I'm not using HD video, so I need to know what the ratio would be for standard video.

Standard is 4:3

Widescreen is 16:9

See here:

Pixel aspect ratio - Wikipedia

[Bill Sprague · Accepted solution]

Scale to frame size box in Preferences > General

[janicem73443394]

whsprague,

I can't thank you enough. At first I thought it wasn't going to solve my problem because my photos were still too big for the timeline. But, after I closed the program, restarted my computer, and then resized the original photos with the writing on them, the photos finally displayed correctly. I'm relieved since the wedding is only one month away.

Thanks for your help.

Jan

[Bill Sprague]

Jan,

You are very welcome.  Answering questions helps me remember or learn how it works.

Bill