I'm new here and I posted a test photograph in the Avian Gallery this morning. By the time I got the JPG file down to the size called out in the "Photo Posting Guidelines" the image is very poor quality. What am I missing? I'd like to post more but not if they look this bad.
Posted by Bill Fach on February 7, 2010 at 2:49 PM
Larry: Depending on which processing program you're using you may want to see if you have a Save for Web feature. In Photoshop when the Save for Web box opens there will be a place where you can check Optimize to file size. Fill in 200K for the regular gallery post and 500K for the optional larger version. One major advantage to the Save for Web feature is that it only saves the image data and does not retain some of the metadata that enlarges the file size. Hope this helps. >=))>
Posted by David Bostedo on February 7, 2010 at 3:36 PM
Larry - Here are the steps that I follow :
-- Prep the file with any border or signature..
-- Resize the file making the long size 720 pixels.
-- Sharpen a little, since shrinking usually makes it soft.
-- Save as JPG, and set quality as low as 50% or so as needed to shrink the file size.
It's that last step that Bill is talking about "Save For Web" helping. It will create a smaller file than a regular save. If you still need help, please post what you're trying and specific steps.
Posted by Richard Ditch on February 7, 2010 at 10:18 PM
I checked your pelican post in Avian and I'd say you are confused about the basics of file sizes and jpeg compression. The small image you posted is 292x234 pixels but 98.6Kb because the jpeg compression is only 1:2. The large image measures 720x577 pixels but requires 265Kb because the compression is 1:6.
I'm typically running 1:10 or so for jpeg compression to get my 720 pixel images in the 150Kb range for uploading.
Look at my digital tips articles on my web site and be sure to read the File Size Basics and My Typical Workflow sections. They should help get you on track to understanding where you are having problems.
Richard, my question to you would be, if you set Bicubic Sharper (best for reduction) in PS preferences do you really need to apply that much sharpening after reduction to your small JPEG? And how much Smart sharpening did you apply in that step?
Duplicate .psd file
Crop to desired format
Add signature if available
Edit>Convert to profile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
Image>Mode>8bit
Image Size>Tick the Resample box and go to Width or Height window, (which you set for pixels) and choose appropriately whether horizontal or vertical image>Type in desired size(720 or 1200 for larger image)>OK
Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask and type in Amount 50 Radius 0.3 Threshold 0>Click OK
Sometimes you need to do this sharpening procedure twice.
Go to Save for Web and next to Preset window, click the >> icon
Click Optimize to File Size and type in desired file size, for NPN that would be 200 for a 720px image and around 450 or 500 for a larger 1200px image.
Click OK and save to appropriate folder.
Posted by Richard Ditch on February 8, 2010 at 7:54 PM
Nice tutorial Richard. Your shot was quite excellent right out the gate too.
Thanks. My objective is to always get it right at the time of exposure (or as close to that as possible) to eliminate the need or temptation to do massive reworking in post processing.
Richard, my question to you would be, if you set Bicubic Sharper (best for reduction) in PS preferences do you really need to apply that much sharpening after reduction to your small JPEG? And how much Smart sharpening did you apply in that step?
I usually avoid Bicubic Sharper as it effects everything in the image and is an easy way to get oversharpened images. I set the default to Bicubic, and only do my sharpening with Smart Sharpen at the final image size.
With Smart Sharpen I decide which parts of the image will get sharpened (by first making a selection on a duplicate layer), and how much (by setting the sliders). Each image is sharpened as needed, and even different sizes of the same image usually get different amounts of sharpening. Amount is typically 50-150. Radius is usually 0.3.
Since I sharpen on a duplicate layer I can use the opacity slider to reduce the effect, and I can add a layer mask if I want to make further selective adjustments.
Discussion
7 replies-- Prep the file with any border or signature..
-- Resize the file making the long size 720 pixels.
-- Sharpen a little, since shrinking usually makes it soft.
-- Save as JPG, and set quality as low as 50% or so as needed to shrink the file size.
It's that last step that Bill is talking about "Save For Web" helping. It will create a smaller file than a regular save. If you still need help, please post what you're trying and specific steps.
I'm typically running 1:10 or so for jpeg compression to get my 720 pixel images in the 150Kb range for uploading.
Look at my digital tips articles on my web site and be sure to read the File Size Basics and My Typical Workflow sections. They should help get you on track to understanding where you are having problems.
Duplicate .psd file
Crop to desired format
Add signature if available
Edit>Convert to profile (sRGB IEC61966-2.1)
Image>Mode>8bit
Image Size>Tick the Resample box and go to Width or Height window, (which you set for pixels) and choose appropriately whether horizontal or vertical image>Type in desired size(720 or 1200 for larger image)>OK
Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask and type in Amount 50 Radius 0.3 Threshold 0>Click OK
Sometimes you need to do this sharpening procedure twice.
Go to Save for Web and next to Preset window, click the >> icon
Click Optimize to File Size and type in desired file size, for NPN that would be 200 for a 720px image and around 450 or 500 for a larger 1200px image.
Click OK and save to appropriate folder.
Thanks. My objective is to always get it right at the time of exposure (or as close to that as possible) to eliminate the need or temptation to do massive reworking in post processing.
I usually avoid Bicubic Sharper as it effects everything in the image and is an easy way to get oversharpened images. I set the default to Bicubic, and only do my sharpening with Smart Sharpen at the final image size.
With Smart Sharpen I decide which parts of the image will get sharpened (by first making a selection on a duplicate layer), and how much (by setting the sliders). Each image is sharpened as needed, and even different sizes of the same image usually get different amounts of sharpening. Amount is typically 50-150. Radius is usually 0.3.
Since I sharpen on a duplicate layer I can use the opacity slider to reduce the effect, and I can add a layer mask if I want to make further selective adjustments.