[lovemypentax]

May be a crazy question but I have to ask. What is the best way to guarantee that when I take a photo it can be sized for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 etc. I always seem to loose something when I crop it to fit an 8x10. When I had my wedding pictures done in vegas they 8x10 they gave me was exactly like the 4x6. Any words of wisdom on this would be apprecaited .

[Ash]

Photos taken in 2:3 proportions will be cropped if they're not printed in a 2:3 format.
So 4x6 is a 2:3 format, therefore no cropping.
8x12 is a 2:3 format, therefore no cropping.
8x10 however is not a 2:3 format, and so will be cropped from the long end.
Basically just calculate 2:3 enlargements proportionally, and you'll find the formats that will and won't need to be cropped.

[Marc Sabatella]

May be a crazy question but I have to ask. What is the best way to guarantee that when I take a photo it can be sized for 4x6, 5x7, 8x10 etc. I always seem to loose something when I crop it to fit an 8x10. When I had my wedding pictures done in vegas they 8x10 they gave me was exactly like the 4x6.

That's physically impossible. *Something* had to be cropped to make it fit (either than, or they "stretched" the image, which would make you look either fatter or skinnier than you really are). Most likely, they simply had some empty space to either side of you, and cropped out some of that, so it wasn't noticeable. That's really the only trick here: don't put important things close to the edges - especially the short edges.

[imtheguy]

If you are just looking for something to help you line up your crop while shooting, you can get a focus screen with the crop marks for 8x10 or 5x7 to show on your view finder. Maybe others are available too but I am sure Katz Eye offers those two sizes.

[lovemypentax]

Thanks everyone for your help.