Displaying a Photo as Desktop Background

[PT]

I have two monitors: one is a 4:3 on a desktop and the other a 16:9 laptop
monitor.

I want to use a .JPG file from a 4" x 6" digital camera photo as the desktop
background on the laptop. But when I set it up by right clicking on the
desktop, selecting properties, and browsing to the appropriate .jpg photo
file, the resulting image is stretched out, distorting the photo in a manner
similar to what appears on sports bar HDTV sets.

I assume there's a way to retain the correct aspect ratio, leaving a pair of
"black" bars at the left and right ends of the photo.

How to do it?

 

[Charles W Davis]

I have two monitors: one is a 4:3 on a desktop and the other a 16:9 laptop
monitor.

I want to use a .JPG file from a 4" x 6" digital camera photo as the
desktop background on the laptop. But when I set it up by right clicking
on the desktop, selecting properties, and browsing to the appropriate .jpg
photo file, the resulting image is stretched out, distorting the photo in
a manner similar to what appears on sports bar HDTV sets.

I assume there's a way to retain the correct aspect ratio, leaving a pair
of "black" bars at the left and right ends of the photo.

How to do it?

If you want it to fill the screen, open the image in a photo editor and crop
the image to the 16:9 proportions. Just hope that nothing of importance is
lost.

 

[sgopus]

Part of the problem is the photo's original resolution, it's too low to look
good ath the higher resolution setting of your monitor, also the size of the
photo is important, if you took at 2x3 inch photo and stretched it to fit a
12x16 screen, it would look wildly distorted.

 

[N. Miller]

I have two monitors: one is a 4:3 on a desktop and the other a 16:9 laptop
monitor.

I want to use a .JPG file from a 4" x 6" digital camera photo as the desktop
background on the laptop. But when I set it up by right clicking on the
desktop, selecting properties, and browsing to the appropriate .jpg photo
file, the resulting image is stretched out, distorting the photo in a manner
similar to what appears on sports bar HDTV sets.

I assume there's a way to retain the correct aspect ratio, leaving a pair of
"black" bars at the left and right ends of the photo.

How to do it?

Use a photo editor program, such as Irfanview, which can resize your photo,
and/or crop it, retaining the proper aspect ratio for the display.

http://www.irfanview.com/

Save the photo you edit to the laptop aspect ration (16:9) as a file, and
use that as your desktop background.

 

[Olórin]

I have two monitors: one is a 4:3 on a desktop and the other a 16:9 laptop
monitor.

I want to use a .JPG file from a 4" x 6" digital camera photo as the
desktop background on the laptop. But when I set it up by right clicking
on the desktop, selecting properties, and browsing to the appropriate .jpg
photo file, the resulting image is stretched out, distorting the photo in
a manner similar to what appears on sports bar HDTV sets.

I assume there's a way to retain the correct aspect ratio, leaving a pair
of "black" bars at the left and right ends of the photo.

How to do it?

In Display Properties, Desktop tab, have you got it set to "Stretch" under
"Position"? Play around with the settings there, clicking Apply each time to
check how it looks.

As sgopus said, this is too small a picture to look good at the same height
or width as your monitors. And if it's not of the same *proportions* as the
monitor you want it on (which it isn't - 6:4 <> 4:3 <> 16:9) then it will
look wrong when stretched in both directions to fit. Especially if the
orientation of the shot is portrait....

I'm curious, though: what do you mean by a 6" x 4" digital camera photo -
where do you get that information from? If you installed IrfanView as
suggested, open the picture in it and press"i"; what does it say next to
"print size"? Or, do you perhaps mean a *scan* of a 6x4 print? If so, try
scanning it in at a higher resolution to get something more acceptable when
resized for a desktop wallpaper.

 

[Bob Lucas]

If you want it to fill the screen, open the image in a photo editor
and crop the image to the 16:9 proportions. Just hope that nothing of
importance is lost.

The ratio of the JPEG output from most digital cameras is 4:3.
Consequently, the original JPEG file will be a perfect fit for the 4:3
screen of your desktop computer - but not for your 16:9 laptop.

When you (or a photo lab) produces a 4" x 6" print from your memory
card, the printer crops the original image to fit the paper. With a 6"
x 4" print, you will lose a significant "slice" from the top and bottom
of the picture. (A 5" x 7" print is better fit.)

However, print size is irrelevant, when you create a wallpaper for your
computer, because you should always use the original JPEG file from the
camera to create the wallpaper.

Depending upon the settings, the typical maximum JPEG output from
digital cameras might be:
3 megapixel camera 2048 x 1536 pixels
5 megapixel camera 2592 x 1944 pixels

Pixel density of the original JPEG file should be adequate to produce
good quality wallpaper on either of your computers. Conversely, a
scanned image of a 6" x 4" print would probably produce disappointing
results.

Upon the assumption that you are using the original JPEG file (as
opposed to a scanned copy of a printed photograph), you will need to
change the ratio from 4:3 to 16:9, before you use the photograph as a
desktop wallpaper for your laptop computer. There are two possible
solutions.

The first solution involves the use of a photo editing program to crop
the original JPEG image. (Save the cropped image with a different file
name). However, you will lose a significant part of the picture, when
you crop the original image.

A better solution also requires the use of a photo editing program.
This time, you leave the image size unchanged - and increase the canvas
size to the required ratio.

Adobe Photoshop Elements provides a suitable tool. (Firstly, open the
JPEG file and change the background color of the image to black. Then,
click on Image | Resize | Canvas Size. Save the edited image with a
different file name). Then, the wallpaper on your 16:9 display will
show black bars at either side of the picture.

I am sure many other photo editing programs offer similar options.

 

[Thomas Wendell]

I have two monitors: one is a 4:3 on a desktop and the other a 16:9 laptop
monitor.

I want to use a .JPG file from a 4" x 6" digital camera photo as the
desktop background on the laptop. But when I set it up by right clicking
on the desktop, selecting properties, and browsing to the appropriate .jpg
photo file, the resulting image is stretched out, distorting the photo in
a manner similar to what appears on sports bar HDTV sets.

I assume there's a way to retain the correct aspect ratio, leaving a pair
of "black" bars at the left and right ends of the photo.

How to do it?

What's the resolution of the pic?? Is you have the photo stretched to fill
the screen? If so, set it to center (at the same screen as you set the
background. If you want the pic to "fill" the screen /with black bars) ,
you need a 3rd party software to resize it to 1024*768 pixels (will leave
thin black bars at top and bottom, as your laptops resolution most likely is
1280*800 H/V)

 

[Richard in AZ]

|I have two monitors: one is a 4:3 on a desktop and the other a 16:9 laptop
| monitor.
|
| I want to use a .JPG file from a 4" x 6" digital camera photo as the desktop
| background on the laptop. But when I set it up by right clicking on the
| desktop, selecting properties, and browsing to the appropriate .jpg photo
| file, the resulting image is stretched out, distorting the photo in a manner
| similar to what appears on sports bar HDTV sets.
|
| I assume there's a way to retain the correct aspect ratio, leaving a pair of
| "black" bars at the left and right ends of the photo.
|
| How to do it?
|
| --
|
| PT
|
Every answer you were getting, about cropping, etc., missed the point that in setting a photo as
wallpaper, there is an option on the side that let's you "center" the photo instead of "stretching"
it. This leave the photo proportions correct, but there will be a border around the photo.