Posting Size - I cannot post decent size image!

[RPCrowe]

I am having problems posting images at a decent size. Posting rules state that an image cannot exceed 800x800 pixels. However, I cannot post an image anywhere near that size.

As an example, I have tried to post an 8-bit JPEG image 576x380, with a resolution of 72 pixels/inch. The forum refused this image because it exceeded the maximum size of 1KB.

The largest size image I was able to post is 346x228 Pixels. This is really a small image.

I have seen images posted that are as large as 800x605 Pixels.

What am I doing wrong in that I am only able to post tiny images?

[JohnnyG]

The posting rules are 800 pixels on the largest side and less than 100,000 bytes.

Where are you trying to post? To a thread or your avatar because avatars are much smaller.

[Radtech1]

What am I doing wrong in that I am only able to post tiny images?

You are saving your images at too high of a quality for the given dimentions. What image editing program are you using?

Assuming some sort of Photoshop product (Elements or Full Version), then you should ALWAYS use "Save For Web" feature when posting pictures. DO NOT use "Save As..."

Unfortunately, when posting photos, the word SIZE has two meanings. There is Image Size, which means the photograph must be less than 800 pixels along the longest edge, and File Size, which means the computer file "myshot.jpg" must the less than 100 kilobytes in size. "Save for Web" allows you the most control over each of these two meanings of Size.

"Save for Web" has a box to allow you to resize the dimensions (H&W - Image Size) of your shot. This will allow you to select a % of the original height and width, or a specific number of pixels. Personally, I find that 25% of the original H&W works best for me, because the the program removes exactly 3 out of every 4 pixels, without re-interpolation.

If 25% of your original file is still above the 800 pixel limit, alternatively, "Save for Web" can set Pixels rather than percent. So you can set the width at 800 (or whatever) pixels, check Constrain Proportions, and this will give you exactly the image size you want.

Then my adjusting the slider called QUALITY, "Save For Web" also gives you the the most delicate control over the final file size, in increments of percent. In other words, you can select any one of 100 levels of compression to get maximum quality and get in just under the 100k limit.

So first set the image size you want, then use the "Quality" slider to bring the file size to 99k, and there you go.

As a bonus, "Save For Web" also strips out all of the extraneous EXIF data that does nothing but take up valuable file space. This allows more image size and higher quality in your 99k file.

Finally, it will save the resultant image to a different folder (My Documents, in my case) so you don't have to worry about accidentally overwriting the full sized shot with a minified one.

Keep in mind that this is NOT for archiving or printing.

Go to the "Help" section and look up Save For Web to learn more about how to use it on whichever specific product you have.

Rad

[cdifoto]

Host them yourself and embed. The forum max is 100K, not 1K. If you see images that are larger than 100K, they're hosted elsewhere and embedded.

[superdiver]

Agree, host them else where, like smugmug, fliker, pbase, there are a TON of places to do it...many free and all cheap...

[Pete]

If you host the photos yourself (say on smugmug or photobucket etc), there is NO file size limit.

The only forum limit is the dimensions, which dictates 800pixels on the longest side.

All of my images are saved at max jpg quality (running up to 500K each). The 100K limit is only imposed on images that you use the "attachment" option for (since you're uploading them to POTN's servers).