Transforming my dog with Photoshop

[Lurch]

Hi guys, having just taken up photography in the past few months as well as adopting my first ever dog the results were going to be predictable. I just can't believe how willing Charlie is to be photographed which is great for me.

Whilst not being completely new to graphic programs this is my first real piece done in Photoshop. Any criticisms would be greatly appreciated, oh and he isn't as nasty looking as he looks in the final picture but i wanted a dramatic look as i am going to frame this and hang it over the fireplace.

Original image:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/marcbibby/1.jpg

After some serious cloning:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/marcbibby/2.jpg


Converted to b+w:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/marcbibby/3.jpg

Zoomed and cropped:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/marcbibby/4.jpg

The dimensions of the final picture are 2126x1210, would anyone be able to tell me what maximum print size can be achieved with those as i want to frame and hang it on a big wall.

Thanks in advance.

[Nicole]

I think the after looks quite good :) As far as print size goes, you'll probably need to take it to someone who specializes in enlarging prints (probably more than your local one hour photo place). Photo quality prints should be between 200 and 300 ppi which would mean that you're looking at a print size of about 7x4" to 10x6" without any sort of software to help enlarge the print (see info about printing (http://www.design215.com/toolbox/print_guide.php)). You could always use something like Genuine Fractals (http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2) to enlarge it if you're looking for a large print. Or at least talk to the print store to see what they use to enlarge it. Hope that helps.

[Lurch]

Thank you Nicole it certainly does help especially the link to the enlargement software, looks like something i need to invest in as i intened to persue the large prints for pictures.:)

[wulf]

Another factor to consider is how far away people will be viewing the picture from. If they are likely to be getting their eyes up close, then you may want to keep to a suitable number of pixels to allow printing at 300dpi.

However, if the picture is going to hang above your fireplace and normally be viewed across the room, then you can take the dpi much lower - 150dpi or even less. Just think of the size of the dots on the average billboard, which looks smooth when viewed across the street!

Taking expected viewing distance into account will allow you to get much bigger prints without needing massively larger file sizes.

Wulf

[Lurch]

Thanks Wulf i hadn't even considered that, given the fact that i have a smallish lounge in a bungalow, the picture cant be viewed from more than about 10 feet in any direction.
Amazing what you learn and i thank you for that little nugget. You wouldn't happen to know of a good online enlargement service?, preferably in the Uk.

[wulf]

Do you mean a place to send your photos and get prints back? I'm trying to remember who I used for my Christmas cards (I had a composite of several of my photos printed and then glued that to the front of the cards - quality and turn-around time were great and I've got the name of the place filed away somewhere).

Wulf

[Lurch]

Yup thats what i mean, there are plenty to choose from but i always prefer personal reccomendations.

[wulf]

I used DirectFoto (http://directfoto.co.uk/digital-prints/) for my Christmas cards and also got a photocalendar from QOOP (http://www.qoop.com/photobooks/flickr_user/login.php) in January; both provided an excellent service.

Wulf

[CyberF828]

I like the zoomed and cropped one.