Resample from the Finder
Unlike Aperture, iPhoto can make an image smaller but not bigger. To work around this problem, I’ve created a free program called Image Resizer.
To use the Image Resizer program, first drag a copy of the image (or images) you want to resize into a new folder on your desktop (hold down the option key while dragging to create a duplicate of the image, so you don’t accidentally move your original). Then simply drag the duplicate image—or the entire folder—onto the Image Resizer icon.
As with Aperture, you’ll need to calculate the image’s final pixel dimensions yourself. Multiply the desired measurement of the image’s longest side by the desired resolution, and enter this number in the dialog box that appears. (To create a 16-by-20-inch image at 180 ppi, for example, you’d enter
3600.) Image Resizer will resize the image (or images) and save over the file.
Tip
Take Baby Steps If you’ll be enlarging your image significantly—by 150 percent or more—don’t make the whole leap at once. You’ll preserve more detail and get better results by resampling it in 10-percent increments.
[ Ben Long is the author of Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 1.5 (Peachpit Press, 2006). ]