Our most recent article delved into some of the nuances of Photoshop. We gave you a basic primer on some of the core features, such as using layers.
We wanted to get into some more detailed aspects of this photo-editing software. One of the most important things that you will have to do is resize photos.
Keep reading to learn more.
Make sure everything looks right in the layers before resizing the image
You need to look carefully at the overall image before you plan to resize it. this means looking carefully at the layers individually.
You can edit different parameters of the layer by right-clicking on it. In the sliding menu that appears, we will find several options, such as “Blending options”, which allows us to apply some effects that interact with the other layers, “Duplicate” and “Delete”, which do not require explanation, “Convert to smart object”, “Create clipping mask”, “Merge down”, which allows us to merge a layer with the one immediately below it, “Merge visible”, which allows us to merge into a single layer all layers that are visible, excluding those that are not, “Flatten”, which allows us to merge all layers for export.
It should be noted that our last post dealt with the subject of Photoshop layers in a very basic way, since the purpose of the post was to explain them to people that are just getting started with Photoshop. We can go into more detail later, but the main purpose of this particular article is to talk about looking at the layers just to make sure everything will look properly before resizing the image.
Obviously, Photoshop is not a simple software to understand, nor easy to use, and the subject of layers was not going to be either. But as we mentioned in the last article, these tips should be taken as a starting point to begin to investigate and learn everything we can do with Photoshop layers, the rest is imagination and good taste.
How to resize an image in Photoshop
Undoubtedly, one of the most common tasks many computer users must perform is resizing an image to adapt it to a specific use. That is, to make it smaller to send it by e-mail, to upload it to an image hosting site or to enlarge it to see it better.
Although there are dozens of free alternatives on the market, the truth is that many users prefer to use Photoshop mainly because it is a tool that offers professional results. This is why we will learn how to resize an image using Adobe Photoshop.
From this point on, we are going to learn how to resize images to the dimensions we need. Always keeping in mind that the result should be the best possible, which is to say that the images should remain clear and sharp. Before we start, it is necessary to mention that the procedure is the same in all versions of Adobe Photoshop. That said, let’s start with the tutorial.
Resize images with Photoshop
The first thing we have to do to resize an image in Photoshop is of course to open the image, and then click on the “Image” item in the Photoshop menu bar.
This will open the “Image Size” dialog box, in which we will find two different sections: “Dimensions in pixels” and “Document size”. At this point, the section that interests us is “Dimensions in pixels”, since from here we will be able to modify the image size.
In this section, we assume that you have available information about the actual size of the image. In this example, we will use an image that is 1920 x 1080 pixels, with a size of 7.03 Mb. This last piece of data will not help us to make the reduction, but it will be useful in case we want to compare the before and after resizing the image.
Now, to resize an image to the size we want in Photoshop, we must modify the numbers found in “Width” and “Height”.
To change these values, all we have to do is select the numbers in the boxes and replace them with the number we need. When we are done, we press the “Ok” button.
It is worth noting that we can also change the image size to a percentage of the original image size instead of typing a specific pixel value. To do this, click on the drop-down menu next to the “Width” or “Height” box and select the “Percentage” option.
Restricting the width or height size
You have probably already noticed that when you change the “Width” or “Height” value, the number of the other value also changes. This automatically preserves the aspect ratio of the images, i.e. they keep the same aspect ratio and are not distorted. This is desirable to avoid having to calculate the exact dimensions of the images manually.
But what happens when we need to distort an image or simply need it in a certain way. The solution is quite simple, and can be found in the “Image Size” dialog box itself.