Changing The Size Of An Image In Photoshop
You may come across a situation one day when you need to adjust the size of an image. There are 2 different ways to go about this in Photoshop. You can either use the Image Size function or the Canvas Size function. The image size function will change the size of the entire image either shrinking it or expanding it depending upon what you choose. The canvas size function will change the viewable portion of that image while leaving it at it’s normal size.
Open up an image in Photoshop if you haven’t already, click on the Image menu option located in the Main Menu at the top of the screen. From there select Image Size, you will be given a popup window with some options that you can set. The first set of options determines the size of the image in pixels or percentage. To modify by percentage click on the drop down box next to either the height or width inputs and select percentage.
You can also choose to modify the image by actual inches that the image is measured against. This makes it easy if you are wanting to publish an image on a card or physical medium. There various measurement options that you can choose as well depending upon your situation. If you would like to keep the same aspect ratio of your image and you only need to modify one setting, you can check the Constrain Proportions check box located under the Document Size section. Remember, changing the Image Size will affect the overall quality of the image whether your make your image smaller or larger.
The Canvas Size function is basically the same as cropping. To use the Canvas Size function select Image from the Main Menu bar once again and select Canvas Size. The pop up window gives you information of the current size of the canvas along with input boxes that let you change the canvas to a new size. Select the new size of your canvas and click OK. You can now select the move tool (V) and move your image to the correct location that you would like to focus on.
Note: If you find that once you try to manipulate the canvas size and cannot move your image you will need to create a new layer for your image. Either undo (Ctrl+Z) until you get back to your default image or open up the image again so that you can start over. Once you have your image back to it’s normal state, press Ctrl+A which will select the entire image. Press Ctrl+C to copy that image, click File on the Main Menu, click New and then click OK. A new window will open up with your image, from there go back to Image->Canvas Size and set your new settings. Once you have done this you should be able to then move your image using the move tool (V).