Image Resizing is a topic most newcomers to digital imaging struggle with. First of all, why resize an image? The main reasons are to do with what you are going to do with your images. Raw images from your camera are going to be large in file size and generally large in physical (print) dimensions. If you want to email them they need to be small files, if you want to print them out postcard size, you are going to need to reduce their physical size - but retain maximum quality.
First of all, open the original 'bear.jpg' image, and rotate it as we did previously.
Resizing images in Gimpshop is relatively easy but the concept takes a little getting used too.
The best method to use is the IMAGE > IMAGESIZE menu option.
Gimpshop will then show you a dialogue box with the present image print size and resolution.
Notice in the screen on the left that this raw camera image would be quite large (over A3 paper size) but quite low resolution.
So quite simply what you should do, is decide on what size you want to print the image.
You should bear in mind that if you are printing on an inkjet, the resolution of the image should ideally be around 200 pixels per inch. So set the image resolution first, in the X or Y box (you only need to set one, then click outside to automatically set the other).
You can therefore find out the largest size it will print by changing one of the resolution values to 200. Gimpshop will then show you how big the image will be at this resolution. In this case it is 6" x 8". The image will print fine at this size or smaller.
If you want a smaller print size, just change one of the values in the Width or Height boxes. Don't try to change the values independently, or you will distort the image.
Go to this page to discover how to use Canvas Size to crop to a final print size.