Shrink digital files for sharing?????

[Brett Peterson]

I am trying to share some photos & cant make them small enough to post. I have 300d & in adobe photoshop the smallest I can make the file is 135k & it need to be no bigger than 100k I have seen pitchers on that part of this site & it doesn’t look like they have be shrunk that much? Also I don’t know if this is posted in the proper place please move if needed.

Thanks Brett

[jay24k]

Save as web in photoshop. Also drop it to about 800 width. You will have to drop the quality around 70 or so. The best thing is to host your own site and then you can have about 150 and still great pictures. I can barely tell just from naked eye the difference and most will know that some quality is lost when posting.

[ppuga]

Brett.

its easy, if you are using photoshop, follow the next steps:
1) Go to IMAGE> IMAGE SIZE : and change your larger side to 700 pixels (MAX). Be sure they are with the little chain so the size changes in proportion. Click OK.
2) Go to FILE> SAVE FOR WEB: Here, a new window opens, and you have to choose, in the left side, the format, chose JPG MED, or JPG HI, and then CLIK SAVE. Put a differente name, so you dont replace de original. And your file, will get smaller than 100kb.

If not, try making smaller in the first step, go for 600px in the larger side of your photo.

If you are using an OLDER version of photoshop and you dont have the SAVE FOR WEB option, just in the IMAGE SIZE, you have to change the RESOLUTION too, change it to 72ppi, and the same 700px in the largest side. Be sure your image is in RGB. And then save a JPG (medium).

that will work, try it.

;)

[ron chappel]

I agree that photoshop is the way to go but the explanation ppuga gives doesn't seem to match what i see in elements.Maybe he has PS 6,7,etc?

Here's the right way to do it in elements if you have that

When saving for web-

click: file > save for web
When the new window opens there are some settings boxes down the whole right side.The imortant one to check is the second one down- to the left.Select 'JPEG'

Now the way this works is that there are two pictures shown.The left pic is the original uncompressed image,while the right one is what you'll end up with when you see it on a webpage.
Go back to the settings-just to the right of the 'JPEG' setting box you sellected before is a box marked 'quality'
click on the small arrow and play with the slider.
You'll see the compressed image getting better or getting worse as you do this.
Underneath the compressed image you'll see some numbers including the final file size in Kb which will help you decide where to set the quality

You may if fact like to set some images at LESS than 100 Kb. Images with little detail can be made amazingly small and still look great.
Some detailed images can actually look sharper when compressed! (but that is rare)
Peoples faces are important parts to check when compressing.
Highly detailed images can be near impossible to get under 100Kb and still look reasonable.I've had some like that,e.g a beach covered in small rocks.
The only option then is to make the whole image smaller-you can do this in the same 'save for web' window,so it's easy to do

I must say that this whole 'save for web' option in PS elements at first really irritated me no end.Now that i'm used to it,it's a fantastic tool for quickly getting *just* the right image quality you want while keeping file sizes down
In fact for images where i have to be really fussy,i'll save several attempts at saving and check them out later to choose the best

[tim]

The quickest way, if you have XP, is to get the XP powertoys (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx). Then you just right click and choose resize pictures, and choose the size you want.

[xdjoynerx]

why 100k... is an extra 30k really gonna kill you.

[ron chappel]

Some sites like P.net have 100K per image upload limits (allthough i don't think they do anymore(?)

[Brett Peterson]

Hi its brett thanks for the great info. I sure enjoy this site and everones coments & pitchers
I wish I could get the good results that you all do.

[ppuga]

I agree that photoshop is the way to go but the explanation ppuga gives doesn't seem to match what i see in elements.Maybe he has PS 6,7,etc?


sorry, forget to tell that.
I'm using MAC OS X, with PS CS.

Dont know that it was so different in PS Elements.

Sorry