Photo sizing help please

[Bindii]

I'm trying to downsize a pic to use as my avatar but cannot seem to get it under the required amount of kb's without disorting it beyond recognition.

Can anyone help me please?

 

[Weird Harold]

I'm trying to downsize a pic to use as my avatar but cannot seem to get it under the required amount of kb's without disorting it beyond recognition.

Can anyone help me please?

You need a program that does "smart resampling" or at least offers you the choice of several resampling algorithms -- Irfanview fits that description and is freeware.

Second, if you're starting from a large image, resize it in stages -- shrink it no more than 50% in any one operation until you get down to about 250 pixels or so.

Finally, if you're still having problems with the JPeG filesize being too large, then adjust the JPeG quality setting to increase the compression level -- I generally use medium quality (60% compression) and have no problems meeting the avatar size limit.

 

[Bindii]

You need a program that does "smart resampling" or at least offers you the choice of several resampling algorithms -- Irfanview fits that description and is freeware.

Second, if you're starting from a large image, resize it in stages -- shrink it no more than 50% in any one operation until you get down to about 250 pixels or so.

Finally, if you're still having problems with the JPeG filesize being too large, then adjust the JPeG quality setting to increase the compression level -- I generally use medium quality (60% compression) and have no problems meeting the avatar size limit.

I've got photoshop cs and its just not happening for me....I might try again tomorrow when I'm more awake....
Thanks

 

[SweetErika]

I've got photoshop cs and its just not happening for me....I might try again tomorrow when I'm more awake....
Thanks

Are you using the 'Save for Web' option under the File menu? I always start with ultra-big photos and never have a problem getting them under the size limit (after cropping and resizing, of course) with Save for Web.

 

[Bindii]

Are you using the 'Save for Web' option under the File menu? I always start with ultra-big photos and never have a problem getting them under the size limit (after cropping and resizing, of course) with Save for Web.

I tried that....

I think I'm going to go and cry now..

 

[Weird Harold]

I've got photoshop cs and its just not happening for me....I might try again tomorrow when I'm more awake....
Thanks

Two quirks I've found in Photoshop:

1: if you don't resize the canvas as well as the image, you don't resize the file-size.

2: Both version of Photoshop I have (LE 2.0 and LE 5.0) have separate resize and resample functions -- resize is just a pixel average resize and introduces a lot of "pixelation" with major size changes. (neither version I have has a "save for web" option, FWIW.)

Both version of Photoshop I have do have a "JPeG Quality" adjustment, but it's a global parameter in the preferences/options rather than a image by image setting.

 

[Absolut]

Depending on the file size you may not be able to get it down to what you want and for it to still remain useable. Here's what i'd do -

Open your file in CS -
Crop it as much as possible if you can / want
Click on image
Click on mode -> ensure its RGB and 8bits / channel
Click on image
Click on image size -> ensure scale styles, constrain proportions and resample image are checked -> resample image probably best set to Bicubic Smoother
Under Document Size -> set resolution to about 33 pixels / inch
Under Pixels Dimensions change the highest value field of either Width or Height to 150
Check Document size is not too small, roughly 2 - 5 inches should still be ok for an AV
Click OK
Click on File -> Save For Web
Click on 2up Tab at top of new window
Click on Right Hand Image
Under "Preset" on right hand side if it reads JPEG High or Medium leave it, anything else use the drop down box and set it to High or Medium
Drop down boxes just to the left should now red JPEG in first one and High or Medium in the one below
Ensure 'Optimized' radio button is checked with a green arrow
Set "Quality" to approx 40 - check file size of the image on the right down the bottom of the window -> ensure it's below about 12kb
- although limit is 15kb on Lit extra information such as file properties are added by windows onto the file thus increasing it in size when you save it so a few kb's under Lits limit is a safe move -
If higher than 12kb lower the "Quality" value till it is, if it's down around 3 or 4 kb increase the "Quality" setting till it reaches around 12kb
Click on Save
Ensure your save setting are: Save as type : Images Only - Settings: Default

You should now hopefully be sane again, if all else fails and you'd rather save your sanity your more than welcome to contact me, email it to me and i can see if i can resize it down. Again if you're file is huge and has been taken / scanned at a really high resolution you may not be able to get it down this way. You might want to try printing it as a Acrobat PDF (if you have distiller) using the standard job options settings as this will use a high level of jpeg compression on the file, crop the page (as it's usually defaulted to A4 or US Quarto depending on where you are) then open it using CS. CS will rasterize the file but it should at least start out now in CS alot smaller than what it was before.

Apologies for being a total geek, lol !!!!!!

 

[Weird Harold]

Here's what i'd do -

{many geeky steps cropped out }

That's why I recommend IrfanView.

In IrfanView (or Paintshop Pro) the steps are:

Open Image file (Irfanview can open Photoshop files directly)
(Optional) crop as desired/required.
Click Image -> Resize (on the menu bar.)
Enter 150 for the larger pixel dimension.
Click OK
Click File -> Save As (JPeg)
(Optional) Adjust JPeG Quality to medium
(Optional) Change the filename.
Click OK.

Generally, only very large (4MP and bigger) images require a staged resizing. and manyof them can be done in one stage.

 

[Absolut]

That's why I recommend IrfanView.

(Irfanview can open Photoshop files directly)

Infranview opens files with .psd - .eps - .pdf or .raw extensions?

 

[Quoll]

Infranview opens files with .psd - .eps - .pdf or .raw extensions?

Irfanview supported extensions

 

[Absolut]

Irfanview supported extensions

withdrawn - stupid question , lol !!!!

 

[Ezzy]

I'm trying to downsize a pic to use as my avatar but cannot seem to get it under the required amount of kb's without disorting it beyond recognition.

Can anyone help me please?

Email me with the file and I will be happy to take a crack at reducing it for you, it is probably quicker than explaining all the quirks of the photo programs, and how to get around them. Or if the picture is online post me the link to it and I will grab it and shrink it that way.

 

[Weird Harold]

Infranview opens files with .psd - .eps - .pdf or .raw extensions?

It's a bit redundant, but for those who don't want to scan through that extensive list of the formats Irfanview can read, I'll just say that the only image format I've encountered that Irfanview cannot open is AOL's proprietary .ART format.

It can't edit animated GIFs, and it can't save changes to several proprietary formats -- Like Kodak's multi-resolution .PCD format -- but it can open, display, and convert images to, almost any format you're likely to encounter and several I've never encountered.

Irfanview can't come close to PhotoShop when it comes to editing images, but for managing images and converting them into avatars, very few programs are as versatile.