Digital cameras and scanners typically capture files at a very high resolution. These photos are much too big to use on a website or even as an email attachment. Therefore, it’s important to first optimize your photos for the web and email. This is done by changing the visual and file size of your photos.
GIMP, PhotoShop, and other similar software do a fine job with this task, but they come with a very steep learning curve. An easier option is an online photo resizer. With one of these, you don’t need to learn new, complicated software just to get a decent photo on the web or ready to email to friends and family.
I find webresizer.com to be user-friendly and able to cover the basics of photo optimization very well. (There are many other online resizers available. Try out a few—you’ll find your own favorite.) To resize and optimize my photo on www.webresizer.com, here’s what I did:
1. Click on Resize Photos
2. Choose your file
3. Upload the file
4. Crop your photo if you would like to get rid of some undesirable areas
5. Enter the size you would like your photo to become
6. Apply the changes
7. Download the new image and you’re ready to post or email it!
Common image sizes in pixels:
96×96 Thumbnails
128×128
640×480 A good size for a large web photo
800×600
1280×960 A common resolution size for digital cameras and scanners
Usually, .JPG is the proper format for saving photos. If your photo has transparent areas (such as in a logo), then use .PNG instead.
If you are unsure of the size you would like your photo to be, both Google Chrome and Firefox have add-ons that you can install that allow you to measure areas of the screen within the browser to determine the appropriate size. For the web, there is not really a reason to go beyond 1,000 pixels wide, and 600 to 800 is probably enough. Here are links to these add-ons:
MeasureIt!
For Firefox:
http://ldw.me/4q
For Google Chrome:
http://ldw.me/4r
If you prefer using a program installed on your own computer, here are some recomendations:
http://ldw.me/lg – ImageSizer in Adobe Air (you must install Adobe Air for this one to work, but Adobe Air has some other nice features for Windows users).
http://ldw.me/lh – Image Resizer for Windows
http://ldw.me/li – iResize for Mac
Each of these programs come with instructions on how to resize photos one at a time, or in batches.
Enjoy your photos!
