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Web-size your Photos using Email or Paint

by: shipscript( 19Feedback score is 10 to 49) Top 1000 Reviewer
24 out of 27 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 3695 times Tags: photo help | resize photos | email photos | auction photos | auction help


Resizing photos for email or the web.

With the introduction of ever larger camera resolutions, we're starting to see photos that are two and three times wider than our screens. These are coming in our emails and are appearing on some websites. It is important to remember that a large percentage of users are still on dialup and they simply can't view images that are overwhelmingly huge.

If your photos are taken strictly for web use, then set the camera to its lowest resolution setting, preferrable under 1MP. The higher settings are there for making prints.

Most Photos should be Resized Smaller

Most cameras come with some sort of image editing software. Use that software to resize the images to something that is comfortable for viewing on a web page.  A width of 400-500 pixels across is pretty good for most images and is about half a screen width. When saving the resized image, look for the compression or quality setting on the "save as" screen and set it in the middle if it used words like good better and best. If it mentions "compression" then use something between 10-25% and if it mentions "jpeg quality", use a number between 75-85%. That setting will help make the file smaller and faster without affecting the dimensions of the image.

Other methods to make Photos Smaller

If you don't have any image editing software for your PC, there are two other methods for resizing images. One is to use your mail program and the other is to use MS Paint that is free on all Windows PCs.

The Email Method (on XP)


This method should always be used as a courtesy to your recipients when emailing unedited images to friends and family.


1. Go to your "My Pictures" album on your computer.

  • Right-click on a photo and "Send To" "Mail Recipient".
  • If you hold down the Ctrl-key, you can click on several photos at once.
  • Then after they are all highlighted, right-click to "Send To" to process the whole group.


2. A popup will ask if you want to keep the original size or make them smaller. Of course, we want to make those giant photos smaller.

3. The smaller image file (or group of photos) will be added as an attachment in a new mail. At this point, you can email to someone, or email to yourself. But if you are using Outlook Express, you can simply drag the image icon from the slot in the email to your desktop and you will have the new smaller photo on your desktop.


4. The new smaller photo can then be uploaded to your online image host. The photo on your desktop can be given a new name and moved back into your "My Pictures" folder, or you can simply move it back into the folder and replace the original large photo that is still there.

(see full screenshots on this blog page)


The MS Paint Method


1. Go to your "My Pictures" album on your computer.

Right-click on a photo and farther down the menu, select "Open With" and choose "Paint".


2. Within Paint, select "Stretch/Skew" from the "Image" menu.

That will open a dialog window, where you will change both vertical and horizontal stretch % values at the same time. They must both be the same number. A smaller value will make a smaller image. If a photo was taken at the 3MP or 4MP setting, you might try 25% to see how it looks.


If it doesn't look right, then click the UNDO option, and repeat step two using a different value.



3. When the image looks about the right size on your screen, save the image to a new name, and be sure the "jpeg" option is selected in the dropdown list on the save screen.


4. The new smaller photo can then be uploaded to your online image host.

(see full screenshots on this  blog page)

 

copyright 2006 © shipscript


Guide ID: 10000000001655948Guide created: 08/22/06 (updated 06/21/08)

 
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