CHOOSING A PHOTO
By far the number one factor in getting a great portrait from Funeral Portraits is to send a large and detailed photo to start with. Families are sometimes disappointed when they see a small photo of their loved one dramatically enlarged because there was just not enough detail for even our experienced artists to build on. Making the effort to get a good photo is worth it, be sure to let your families know. Getting a large, detailed photograph to scan is key. Bad color, cracks, and scratches are not nearly as difficult to overcome as a blurry small photo.
SCANNING HELP
A good photo needs one more thing: a good scan. Most scanners today are capable of taking quality scans of the photograph that Funeral Portraits will use to create your custom portrait. There are a few simple facts to be aware of to ensure that the size is large enough and the quality settings are correct.
| Four factors to address when using your scanning software: | |
| 1 | Size of the photo: make sure the photo is large enough to get a good image of the person - even if scanned at high resolution, there is only so much data in a small area. |
| 2 | Resolution: make sure that you are scanning at a high resolution - usually 600 to 1200dpi (dots per inch). |
| 3 | Image size: make sure that your scan produces at least a 3 MB (megabyte) image file; if you see that the file you have created is 400 KB (kilobyte), for example, this will be too small a file to make an enlargement for the custom portrait. |
| 4 | Some scanning software will compress a file in order to make the file size smaller. However, this compression destroys the quality of the detail in your scan. If there is a choice given “for web” or “for print”, choose print. Some software will ask you if you want high quality jpegs or low quality - always choose high quality. |
