What are DPIs and how do you change them

This is a question that has plagued many people.  I have people ask me from time-to-time, what does DPI mean.  DPI is an acronym for “Dot Per Inch”.  In simplistic terms, DPI is really just a way of conveying the measurement for output to a medium, such as paper.

If you have digital images that you want to print out, you can use the full size version of the image that comes right from your digital camera.  You shouldn’t have any problems with printing out your images this way. 

One of the most common problems I see occur, is when people are trying to print out their digital images and they have reduced the size of their digital images for emailing or other purposes.  When reducing the size of the image, the resolution and DPIs of the image will also be changed.  This can cause you to have some issues with printing.  Make sure you always keep the original image around and make changes to a copy of the original image for emailing to friends, posting on facebook, etc.  When you go to print out some of your digital images, you’ll be glad you kept the originals.  I have learned this lesson the hard way, like so many others. 

To learn more about what DPI is, and how to change the DPI on an image, check out the links below:

• Link about DPI:  http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/mythdpi.html
• Link outlining how to change the DPI of a digital image:  http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/changedpi.html
• Link for free software download that can be used to change the DPI for an image:  XnView Software
• Another link for free software download that can be used to change the DPI for an image:  Irfanview Software

Enjoy!

Flash Mobs

Have you heard of a Flash Mob?  If not, read on.  Here is a definition I found on the internet that sums up what a Flash Mob is:

A relatively new phenomenon, a flash mob is a spontaneous gathering of people who assemble in a predetermined location, perform an action, and then disperse. Participants network through email, bulletin boards, and websites, and generally assemble silently and without comment before vanishing equally mysteriously.

Note:  The above definition was found at this web site:  http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-flash-mob.htm.

There are videos made of these Flash Mobs.  Here are a couple of Flash Mob video links:

• Opera Company of Philadelphia "Flash Brindisi" at Reading Terminal Market (April 24, 2010)
• Frozen in Grand Central Station

You can go to YouTube.com and perform a search using these search keywords: “Flash Mobs”.  A list of of video links for Flash Mobs will appear.  There a some fun and interesting Flash Mob videos from all around the globe. 

I really like the idea of Flash Mobs.  What a true way to share a gift with total strangers in a way that is fun and entertaining.  It is a random act of kindness that hopefully touches people in ways that inspire them to pass along random acts of kindness, laughter, joy, and/or beauty. How cool. 

Enjoy!

Resizing Images

I get asked a lot “How do I resize my images/pictures”.  I thought I would write a quick and short post on how you can resize images.  Like a lot of things in life, there are several ways you could do this.  In this post, I’m just going to cover one method – using Windows Live Photo Gallery (WLPG). 

Note:  I’m running Vista and so are most of the folks who are asking about me about resizing images.  I don’t know if WLPG will run on earlier versions of Windows, so this blog post assumes you are running Windows Vista.

Windows Live Photo Gallery is a free program from Microsoft.  If you don’t have this program installed already, visit this link Windows Live Photo Gallery Download to download and install the software.

Once you have WLPG installed, you are now ready to use it to resize images.  It is really pretty simple.  Here is a link – Using Windows Live Photo Gallery that outlines the steps and show screen shots of the program. 

Happy image resizing!