How to Convert Digital Photos to Posters
Many digital cameras and camera phones can take pictures that are of a high enough quality to use to create a large poster without the image looking too pixilated or blurry. To convert digital photos to posters, you need a graphics layout program, a printer that can handle poster paper and appropriately-sized paper.
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Instructions
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Adjust the options on your digital camera so that the picture size is the maximum number of pixels possible. For instance, if you have a 10 megapixel camera, the maximum output size is about 2592 by 3872 pixels.
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Take the photo in portrait view (tall), since that is usually the orientation of printed posters. Upload it to your computer (you can transfer it using a USB cord linked to your computer or by emailing it to yourself if you have a cell phone camera).
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Choose your poster size. Common poster sizes include 11 by 17, 12 by 18, 18 by 24 and 24 by 36. We'll use 11 by 17 in this example.
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Use a program like Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress or even Microsoft Word to lay out your poster (for the best print quality, use InDesign). Create a new document sized at 11 by 17 inches with half inch margins all around.
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Insert your digital photo into the blank document. Re-size it to fit the workspace (just hold down the "Shift" key and pull at a corner in some programs) if needed. There will be a white border around the poster (unless you trim it off after printing).
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Purchase poster paper sized at 11 by 17 inches that is glossy on at least one side. Make sure that you have a wide-format printer that is equipped to handle this size and type of paper---if not, send the file to a copy shop.
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Print the photo image on the glossy side of the poster paper. Laminate it if you'd like, though the glossiness of the paper should be sufficient.
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Tips & Warnings
If you decide to send the poster to a professional copy shop for printing, convert the file to PDF format first using Adobe Acrobat or the CreatePDF.adobe.com website.
