help exporting to MPIX from aperture

Hey Everyone,

I'm having problems losing resolution in my images when I upload them to fulfillment sites such as MPIX and shutterfly. In my aperture library, my file is 3888x2592 at 10.1 megapixels, but when I upload it to a site, the quality drops to 1944x1246.

Am I missing a setting in Aperture that allows me to upload in high quality? I'd really like to make a couple large prints, but I'm being limited by my resolution.

Thanks,

Steve

How are you exporting your images? If you are doing something like dragging an image to your desktop you're getting a preview. If you go through the export dialog you'll be able to select the format and resolution. If you don't like any of the existing export presets you can make your own.

I'm just pulling the images in through the exporter on the MPIX website. I'm using the HTTP exporter since I the others don't want to work. Then I'm going in through my Aperture database and selecting the individual shots I want.

Currently, my workaround is to email them to another computer in their original size, and then upload them from a saved location, but there has to be a better way to do this.

Steve

theville said:

I'm just pulling the images in through the exporter on the MPIX website. I'm using the HTTP exporter since I the others don't want to work. Then I'm going in through my Aperture database and selecting the individual shots I want.

Click to expand...

It sounds like this is using the MEDIA section of the file finder (when you choose files, you go to Photos in the MEDIA section and then choose Aperture). If this is the case, you are selecting previews, the size of which are determined in Apertures Preferences (Aperture.Preferences.Previews)

Previews are usually optimized for your monitor size.

If you want to continue selecting images in this way, you will need to change the preference setting to remove the size limit. However, this will apply to all previews, not just the ones you want to print. Doing so will give you a hit in disk usage and preview generation time.

A better way would be an Aperture plug-in to directly send exports to the MPIX site. This is available for several sites (eg Getty, Smug mug, Zenfolio, pBase, flickr) but as far as I can tell not for MPIX, although there has been the occasional discussion about it.

My advice would be to simply export the images you want, at the size you want, to a folder on your had drive (no need to email them to another machine) and then select the photos from the folder rather than the Aperture database in the Media Browser. Once you have uploaded the images, you can delete the folder.

-Najinsky

Thank you! This sounds fine for me, since I'm not printing that many images.

Steve

Steve, you realize that you don't have to export each image one at a time. Are they within the same project?

MrsNikon said:

Steve, you realize that you don't have to export each image one at a time. Are they within the same project?

Click to expand...

Mrs Nikon,

So you are saying I should create a seperate project that contains the images I want to print? Right now, I am just uploading them one at a time from the projects they were loaded and edited in.

Steve

No, I didn't say that. I was asking if your images were within the same project. It they were then I was going to give you a response that would differ from if you responded that they were spread among more than one project.

For example, when I am uploading images to the lab I use the flag feature. Usually I try to put together a decent order and my images are usually spread among various projects. Then I run a filter on images that are flagged. Then I have my collection of images in the browser and then run my export dialogue box. You don't have to use flags - you can use a color label if you want. Point is you need to use a unique notation to capture the population you are looking for to output.

theville said:

MrsNikon said:

Steve, you realize that you don't have to export each image one at a time. Are they within the same project?

Click to expand...

Mrs Nikon,

So you are saying I should create a seperate project that contains the images I want to print? Right now, I am just uploading them one at a time from the projects they were loaded and edited in.

Steve

Click to expand...

theville said:

So you are saying I should create a seperate project that contains the images I want to print? Right now, I am just uploading them one at a time from the projects they were loaded and edited in.

Click to expand...

As masters live in projects, projects are best suited for organising the storage of images. For selection you have a host of metadata options such as Albums, Keywords, Ratings, Flags, Colour labels, Comments and more.

For example you could mark all the images you want to export to MPIX with a red label, regardless of the folder/project hierarchy. A smart album can be used to select all red label images which you can then export in one operation. After uploading to MPIX you can change all the red labels to purple labels, so then you have a record of all the images you previously uploaded. This is one example, Aperture provides immense flexibility to organise and automate your processes.

-Najinsky

MrsNikon said:

No, I didn't say that. I was asking if your images were within the same project. It they were then I was going to give you a response that would differ from if you responded that they were spread among more than one project.

For example, when I am uploading images to the lab I use the flag feature. Usually I try to put together a decent order and my images are usually spread among various projects. Then I run a filter on images that are flagged. Then I have my collection of images in the browser and then run my export dialogue box. You don't have to use flags - you can use a color label if you want. Point is you need to use a unique notation to capture the population you are looking for to output.

Click to expand...

MrsNikon,

Thanks for the clarification. My problem is not with organization and selection. I also use the flag feature and filter by flags. My problem is selecting the images for upload. Apparently I am not correctly selecting the master file, but rather preview which is why my quality is lower than reflected in the actual image. How do you select the actual image when uploading, and not the preview?

Steve

Steve, I am wondering if you have the "Quick Preview" feature enabled. Go up to View on the menu bar and see if there is a checkmark next to "Quick Preview" ?? I am grasping as straws here but I wonder if simply turning off Quick Preview (assuming you have it on) will give you access to the full image quality.

theville said:

MrsNikon said:

No, I didn't say that. I was asking if your images were within the same project. It they were then I was going to give you a response that would differ from if you responded that they were spread among more than one project.

For example, when I am uploading images to the lab I use the flag feature. Usually I try to put together a decent order and my images are usually spread among various projects. Then I run a filter on images that are flagged. Then I have my collection of images in the browser and then run my export dialogue box. You don't have to use flags - you can use a color label if you want. Point is you need to use a unique notation to capture the population you are looking for to output.

Click to expand...

MrsNikon,

Thanks for the clarification. My problem is not with organization and selection. I also use the flag feature and filter by flags. My problem is selecting the images for upload. Apparently I am not correctly selecting the master file, but rather preview which is why my quality is lower than reflected in the actual image. How do you select the actual image when uploading, and not the preview?

Steve

Click to expand...

If you drag, you get a preview. You must select and EXPORT. In the export dialog you'll get to choose type and resolution. If there is a plug-in to export directly to MPIX then use it. Otherwise you'll have to export to a temporary folder or your desktop and drag the exported images when doing your upload. Once uploaded you can trash the temporary folder. Dragging directly from Aperture will not get you the result you desire.

small:

http://homepage.mac.com/miller.a/Misc/AperturePreviews_s.m4v

medium:

http://homepage.mac.com/miller.a/Misc/AperturePreviews_l.m4v

When you open from the media browser, you only get the preview, you can't get the master. You must first export a full size image and then use that. Once you have finished with the exported version, simply delete it.

-Najinsky

Thank you guys! That was what I was looking for...

Steve