Having creative freedom with your digital photos has a lot to do with image quality and resolution. We'll
explain exactly what resolution is, how it differs from camera to camera, and how you can take advantage of
it to produce stunning results.
Understanding pixels
To understand the possibilities of digital photography, let's first explore how digital photos are made.
Like a tile mosaic, every digital picture is made up of tiny squares called pixels. If you zoom in far enough
on any digital image, you can see them. Each little pixel has its own specific color and brightness. Millions
of these pixels combined together form your digital photo. The more pixels a photo has, the higher the resolution
becomes.
One million pixels is equal to 1 megapixel (MP). The more megapixels your camera has, the higher the resolution of its photos.
So how much resolution is enough? That depends. For 4" x 6" prints, 3 MP is perfect. But consider other projects, like
enlarging your photos to 16" x 20", or cropping a small portion of your photo and enlarging just that portion. In this case,
a 5MP camera or higher will give you the resolution you need.
Whether you're e-mailing or sharing your photos on the web, knowing the right-sized photo for the job saves
time and frustration. Higher resolution photos contain more information; more information means larger file sizes.
It's best to make your photos smaller than 500K when sending via e-mail. You have two options for bringing
down your file size:
Set your camera to shoot at a lower resolution.
Use your computer to resize your photos.
Learn how.
Or, share unlimited photos-regardless of file size-with family and friends through
Snapfish, HP's online photo sharing website.
Your photos are also your digital negatives. You may want to edit them in different ways as time goes by. Plan ahead by
archiving them correctly.
Shooting photos at a lower resolution will save space on your memory card or hard drive in the short run, but consider
shooting at the highest resolution for future projects. That way, you'll always have a nice, big image to work from. Who
knows what kinds of creative edits you'll want to make down the road.
This chart shows how photo size affects your memory needs.
Take a free online class
in digital photography! Explore the many features of your digital camera, find tips for cropping and editing your
images, and discover new ideas for sharing your photos in creative ways.
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