how do you change the pixel aspect of an image in pshop?

With the image open In Photoshop CS, go to "Image - Pixel Aspect Ratio" ...and then choose the appropriate selection from the drop down list; there are preset choices for square pixels, DV, HD, or you can choose custom and type in a specific pixel aspect ratio value.

I do not know if this feature is available in earlier versions of Photoshop as this is the only one I have used. Good luck.

>>...if you are creating your photoshop files at 720x480 or a multiple
>>of that, you should change your pixel aspect to 0.9091.

Since these are photos, not videos captures; the default dimensions right out of the camera are 2560 x 1920. While 1920 is divisible by 480 (=4) but 2560 is *not* evenly divisible by 2560. It would seem that they would fall into the category you mention; to go to .9091.

Would it not, however, be correct to say if the material was created on a computer screen @ 1.000, you would need to change it to .9091 to view correctly on a video screen and contra wise also being true, an origination of .9091 (like a video screen capture) would need to be changed to 1.000 to view correctly on a computer screen? Would this be correct?

Rich R:

Create a blank image file.

Go to Image/Pixel Aspect Ratio.

Also relevant: View/Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction

This is assuming you are using Photoshop CS or CS2. I do not know that earlier versions have this.

Most of this is irrelevant.

Use the image in whatever size or shape it is. Leave it alone. Don't change anything.
Open up Pan/Crop for the image in Vegas, right-mouse-button-click on the "F" and choose "Match output aspect ratio".

That takes care of it. No other effort required. In fact, even the second step is not required unless you want the image to fill the frame completely.

Yea when kentwolf said he was making circles, I assumed he is creating graphics for video and needed them to be displayed correctly. If these are photos from a digital camera or scanner, then just do as Chienworks says and don’t change the pixel aspect ratio at all. Just use match to output in the pan/crop menu and they will be fine.

~jr

>>...change the pixel aspect ratio at all. Just use match to output in the pan/crop menu and they will be fine...

That sounds like a very good idea. :)

Thanks!

well, this is not necessarily true. it works if you do it to one pic at a time, it works on multiple clips through ulimatte s, but it doesn't work, for me anyway, if you do it to one clip and apply attributes to a group of clips.
try this, load a dozen pics in vegas and set the match output aspect to the first one. then copy and paste attributes to the rest of the group.
what happened?
do you have black, top and bottom on pics that are close to the output aspect, and are the vertical pics squashed in the pan crop window? i do. i am using v6. it does the same thing in 5 and 4

There's a free script that will set the Match Aspect for all selected images here:
http://www.ayizwe.net/VegasScripts/

You may have to change "SonicFoundry" to "Sony" (it's been a while since I looked at it) and I strongly recommend you make the first letter a capital letter.

As you said, copy/paste attributes does not work for this task. unless all images are exactly the same size.