Posted by Toni McMillen on September 18, 2008 at 7:38 PM
I wanted to introduce myself properly but am having a problem. At the risk of sounding totally ignorant, how do I resize my pics to fit on here?? I am really lost on this and would appreciate some help or a website to help me. Thanks!!!
Toni
Posted by John Mumaw on September 18, 2008 at 8:09 PM
Which image editor are you using?
If none, download and install the free IrfanView app. which will resize images. Users here can help walk you through the instructions.
Posted by Toni McMillen on September 18, 2008 at 8:34 PM
Thanks a lot John. I just use the program that came for my camera but am looking for another. I will take a look and give it a shot. Does this take the pics down from their look? Distort?
Posted by John Mumaw on September 18, 2008 at 8:48 PM
Not at all.
There's surely a way to resize your images with your camera's software, but I'm not familiar with it. Several here are familiar with IrfanView, though.
Posted by Richard Hahn on September 18, 2008 at 8:49 PM
Toni,
What type of camera do you have and what is the name of the software that came with it.
Posted by John Mumaw on September 18, 2008 at 9:01 PM
Once you install IrfanView, go to File and open the image you wish to resize.
Then, Image->Resize/Resample.
In that window, click on the 'Set New Size' button.
Check the 'Preserve Aspect Ratio' box. This will keep the image from distorting when you resize.
Choose 'Pixels' in Units, and use 720 for the longest edge of your image.
IrfanView will automaticallychoose a number for the shorter edge for you.
In the DPI window, type 72.
In 'Size Method', choose 'Resample'.
Click 'OK' and then save the image under a slightly different name than the original so that one isn't overwritten.
If you make an error, just go to Edit->Undo.
That's it!
Posted by David Bostedo on September 18, 2008 at 10:30 PM
Hey Toni - It would really help to know what software you're actually using. But generally :
-- You need to resize and keep the aspect ratio the same. Most software will do this automatically, if you type in 720 for the longest side and/or tell it to keep the aspect ratio. This will keep it from distorting.
-- You may see options to choose which algorithm is used to resize. "Bicubic" is pretty much the standard, but most software will do a good job with any of the common ones.
-- After resizing, the image may look a bit "soft" - e.g. out of focus. Some "sharpening" can help there.
-- When you save as a JPG, you should have an option to choose how compressed the file is. You need to use enough compression to get the file size under 200 kB.
-- And you don't really need to worry about this much, but the step John mentioned about setting 72 dpi is completely unnecessary. If you want more explanation, just ask.
Good luck!
Posted by John Mumaw on September 18, 2008 at 11:27 PM
...but the step John mentioned about setting 72 dpi is completely unnecessary. If you want more explanation, just ask.
David is right....that's an old habit of mine, but no harm done if you've already done that step.
Thanks for the correction, David.
Posted by Toni McMillen on September 19, 2008 at 8:11 AM
Thanks!! You guys are the best! I am going to install the program tonight and go from there. You have been a great help. I shoot with an Olympus SP-570 and it came with the Master 2 program. I am not that hot on it and it tends to be slow but am willing to try new things. I am very green and shoot in Auto Mode for the most part. I am learning and eager to get the manuals down so I can improve. I have so far learned a lot from this site and consider it to be the best money spent(besides the camera, I LOVE IT!) Thanks again and know that you will hear from me soon.
Posted by Jim Erhardt on September 19, 2008 at 5:02 PM
Toni, you may want to consider buying Photoshop Elements for about $100 - it should serve your needs well at this point.
Posted by Toni McMillen on September 19, 2008 at 7:07 PM
Thanks Jim! I will definitely look into it.
Posted by Dan Borzynski on September 19, 2008 at 10:38 PM
By the way, since you are fairly new to the digital end, don't go all out and buy the full version of Photoshop CS3 (or 4 soon). Elements will serve you very well until you are very comfortable with digital work and you may never need to go up to the full version.
And if you see a version of Photoshop CS3 for $179 or so, it is probably the upgrade version, not the full version. It will be an expensive mistake to make.
Last, Elements sometimes comes bundled with Elements Premier. Premier is a video editing program which I assume you don't want.
For what it may be worth, until this year, everything I have ever sold as a print or as image rights was processed on Elements 1 or 3.
Posted by Merle Cook on September 19, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Hey Toni - Welcome aboard. I can only echo the words above for Photoshop Elements. You can pick up a copy of Elements 6 for around $80 and it is worth every penny. What you need to go with it is a "See Spot Run" type of manual. There are several good ones out there that will lead you easily through all the steps to make it do whatever you want. I use Scott Kelby's book. Some folks get hung up in his stupid sense of humor - but if you overlook that and just go with the basics - it is all there and very simple. Follow the steps in the book and don't make it more difficult than it is.
I have Elements 6, CS3, and Lightroom. I use Elements and Lightroom and CS3 gathers dust because it seems way to complicated to me for what I want to do.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of your work.
Discussion
12 repliesToni
If none, download and install the free IrfanView app. which will resize images. Users here can help walk you through the instructions.
There's surely a way to resize your images with your camera's software, but I'm not familiar with it. Several here are familiar with IrfanView, though.
What type of camera do you have and what is the name of the software that came with it.
Then, Image->Resize/Resample.
In that window, click on the 'Set New Size' button.
Check the 'Preserve Aspect Ratio' box. This will keep the image from distorting when you resize.
Choose 'Pixels' in Units, and use 720 for the longest edge of your image.
IrfanView will automaticallychoose a number for the shorter edge for you.
In the DPI window, type 72.
In 'Size Method', choose 'Resample'.
Click 'OK' and then save the image under a slightly different name than the original so that one isn't overwritten.
If you make an error, just go to Edit->Undo.
That's it!
-- You need to resize and keep the aspect ratio the same. Most software will do this automatically, if you type in 720 for the longest side and/or tell it to keep the aspect ratio. This will keep it from distorting.
-- You may see options to choose which algorithm is used to resize. "Bicubic" is pretty much the standard, but most software will do a good job with any of the common ones.
-- After resizing, the image may look a bit "soft" - e.g. out of focus. Some "sharpening" can help there.
-- When you save as a JPG, you should have an option to choose how compressed the file is. You need to use enough compression to get the file size under 200 kB.
-- And you don't really need to worry about this much, but the step John mentioned about setting 72 dpi is completely unnecessary. If you want more explanation, just ask.
Good luck!
David is right....that's an old habit of mine, but no harm done if you've already done that step.
Thanks for the correction, David.
And if you see a version of Photoshop CS3 for $179 or so, it is probably the upgrade version, not the full version. It will be an expensive mistake to make.
Last, Elements sometimes comes bundled with Elements Premier. Premier is a video editing program which I assume you don't want.
For what it may be worth, until this year, everything I have ever sold as a print or as image rights was processed on Elements 1 or 3.
I have Elements 6, CS3, and Lightroom. I use Elements and Lightroom and CS3 gathers dust because it seems way to complicated to me for what I want to do.
Good luck and I look forward to seeing some of your work.