Megapixels and acceptance for publication

From time to time in the past, when discussions regarding MP came up, particularly in the Canon 1DSMK1 and Nikon D2X era a few years ago, some professional photographers would comment that some publications 'required' the higher MP count of the 1DSMk1.

How relevant is this these days, I would be interested to hear what those who are published regularly have to say.

I think a lot depends on the photo. If you have something amazing - then publishers will line up - even if it was shot on a 6MP compact. That said I have seen shots from 20+ MP DSLRs that look awful in publications because they have been buggered by the photographer in post processing. Not mentioning any names!

In the end publishers choose images for a reason - to tell a story etc - and this has nothing to do with the camera they are taken on.

Libraries can be more choosey (many specify cameras). Especially if it is you chasing them. If they are chasing you - they will accept anything you give them.

On a personal level I currently shoot with a 12MP camera - but submit at 300dpi @ 45cmx30cm (about 18-19MP). Never, ever had any problems or concerns over IQ.

This is a double page spread from the D700 at ISO 800 - and it looks great on the page (size approx 45cmx30cm - 18"x12"). Really clean and lots of detail:

Personally I find ISO 800 on the D3/D700 very good for magazine double page spreads. Above this image quality begins to restrict repro sizes in print (OK for photographic/home printing). By ISO 3200 OK for single page vertical, but double page is pushing it a bit.

When my last book Reefs Revealed was published I was showing it to some guys from Nikon and they commented particularly on the detail in one of the macro images. They were very surprised when I told them that it was a D100 photo. Everyone gets so caught up in the latest and greatest cameras that they forget the older ones were perfectly good too.

Alex

Alex is right - if you have something amazing captured then a potato print will pretty much suffice. (Bring on the sack of maris piper....cheaper than DSLR's). And the repro fee should reflect the rarity of the image and the desire to publish. Exclusive rights = more money.

A3 (42cm x 29.7cm) at 300dpi is perfect for those glossy double page spreads (DPS). Adobe(1998) colorspace is preferred too.

Had plenty of DPS with a D70. No one has ever asked "what camera/resolution" from an editorial perspective.

Kit is secondary. It's where you point it and when you press the shutter that makes more difference.

Good luck!

I've just started printing my photos out for my home and friends but have also had a couple inquiries for other uses. Please excuse the dumb questions: I spoke to my local photo printer (a very good, pro shop) and I left with the impression that each pixel represents one dot. If 300 dpi is the standard resolution for publication, how do you get 18-19 MP from a 12 MP camera to submit? Are you up-res'ing the file and if so how? Simply putting 300 dpi in the output box when I'm converting the file to jpg for export (I use Aperture) is clearly not sufficient.

Again, please excuse what may be a dumb questions, but any guidance is appreciated - I'd be thrilled to have an image published!

Thanks,

Phil

I've just started printing my photos out for my home and friends but have also had a couple inquiries for other uses. Please excuse the dumb questions: I spoke to my local photo printer (a very good, pro shop) and I left with the impression that each pixel represents one dot. If 300 dpi is the standard resolution for publication, how do you get 18-19 MP from a 12 MP camera to submit? Are you up-res'ing the file and if so how? Simply putting 300 dpi in the output box when I'm converting the file to jpg for export (I use Aperture) is clearly not sufficient. Again, please excuse what may be a dumb questions, but any guidance is appreciated - I'd be thrilled to have an image published! Thanks, Phil

My first published photos were from a 5MP Olympus 5050. I'm 2 cameras on but still only at 8MP. No magazine editor has ever asked how many MP an image is or specified that it has to be a certain limit.

But as Alex says, image libraries often specifiy minimum pixel size for images (no interpolation).

Hope this helps.

How do you get 18-19 MP from a 12 MP camera to submit? Are you up-res'ing the file and if so how?

Hey Phil,

I tend to uprez my files before any initial weak sharpening in standard processing soon after RAW conversion. I find that I get similar sharpness whether I up rez by 50% or not - so I tend to file my processed images at this size (18MP - as PSD-8bit - come out at 50-55MB) - with only weak sharpening applied.

There are many ways to up-rez your file - but whichever way you choose someone will always tell you that you are wrong!

I often down-rez before sending images to magazines - particularly with verticals there is no point sending a file that is much more than 10% larger than the page size. I tend to submit as JPG now. I don't resharpen before submission because I will not know the actual repro size of the images in the mag.

Alex

Thanks everyone! I'm still trying to figure out the whole digital work flow thing and since I'm not particularly well-grounded in technology, all your comments are helpful. Maybe it's time for another long chat with my local photo pros

When my last book Reefs Revealed was published I was showing it to some guys from Nikon and they commented particularly on the detail in one of the macro images. They were very surprised when I told them that it was a D100 photo. Everyone gets so caught up in the latest and greatest cameras that they forget the older ones were perfectly good too.

 

Alex

Alex, at what size did you reproduce the D100-image in your book? What would you consider to be the maximum size to get nice results in a photo-book with a 6MP camera when uprezzing? Is there a limit?

cheers

Christian