product images are different shapes and sizes what do i do?

so there are 2 different types of pictures. One is about 7X3 inches and the other is around 3x10. I realize i can set the image sizes in configuration -> images to be wide enough and tall enough, the problem is I am getting these large white spaces on my product info page because of this. Is there anyway to set different image specs for different products?

You don't have to specify a size for the images in admin. If you leave the px dimensions blank, they will take what they need.

ok so i tried that out but my images are large and they need to be scaled down to fit on the page. I don't want to acutally make them smaller though because when larger image is clicked i want the large picture to come up.

That's a bad idea. Using a large image to display as a thumbnail means that it takes just as long to load as the large image. If you have a listing page with a dozen or two images, it can take so long to load that a customer with a slower connection may give up and leave. Also, when the browser squashes an image, it uses a quick and dirty method that reduces the image quality noticeably.

Zen Cart has the ability to use separate small, medium and large images to get maximum quality and efficiency. See the FAQ/tutorials for more information.