Anyone with Adobe Photoshop

[ReefTank1]

I just got Adobe Photoshop CS2, what is the best way to resize photos (to post here) using this program. I take photos in a large (around 2mb) format so the size needs to be reduced a lot without loss in quality.

thanks

 

[BlueCorn]

2MB isn't a large image.

Do Image/Image Size and shrink the number of pixels

then do

File/save for web

adjust the quality to the desired size

 

[ReefTank1]

hmm guess i dont have that good of a camera
its a 300d by the way

 

[BlueCorn]

I generally shoot RAW so 8mb is the starting point.

 

[ReefTank1]

thanks, it worked very well

 

[jwedehase]

As a guideline, I size my photos down to a width of 800 pixels. Then when I Save for Web, I use a JPG at 50% quality. 50% is a sweet spot of quality to image size. The file size jump between 50 and 51% is a significantly large jump, compared to all the other 1% increases.

 

[steve68]

also remeber that more color means more pixels.
if i shoot in raw mode & get a lot of color it's like 6meg
but if i get a lot of white it goes down to 4meg

 

[jwedehase]

More file size, not more pixels. That's due to JPG compression. If you shoot in RAW, there is no compression, so the image is full size, no matter what you shoot.

 

[Ebn]

Same applies with noise. The higher in ISO you go, the higher the file size.

For resizing, I just use the shortcut keys.
Ctrl + Alt + I

I just change it to 800 px on the long side. I also made my own action to resize any image to 800 px on the long side whether it be in landscape or portrait orientation.

To do this.
File -> Automate -> Fit Image

Now just change that to whatever the longest side you want to resize to. For instance if you want 800 px on the longest side, enter 800 for both boxes. I just record the above into an action and map it to a key for quick and instant resizing of any image.

The action is great for resizing especially if you want to go for prints. Print resolution is 300 px/in. so if you print something that's 5" on the long end, change the fit image size to 1,500 and you're set.

 

[steve68]

true thats what i ment.

 

[ReefTank1]

thanks for your replies, this resizing went very well

 

[mystic7]

You could have left it at least twice the size. And don't forget there are other tools for tweaking the image like sharpening, levels, shadow/highlight. Heck, even using the "auto" adjustments like auto color and auto levels does a great job.

 

[ReefTank1]

I'll definitely try those out, there is so much stuff to do in photoshop!

 

[ReefTank1]

by the way, I was wondering how I could have made that photo a larger size without sacrificing quality, it is the max size for this site (50k)

 

[MCary]

Use photobucket instead of this sites gallery

 

[deeplove]

You can also edit the final product by "Save Optimized As". You can mess with the controls and also the size of the actual photo.

Sometimes you can reduce the file size alot without losing so much of the quality on the picture.

I use Photoshp 7 a lot and I don't see myself upgrading to CS just because it's only a couple of filters and maybe a handful of feature.

Save Optimized As gives you 3 selections and the original to edit. Try it out.

 

[ReefTank1]

thanks, how do I use photobucket?

 

[steve68]

go to www.photobucket.com set up an account upload ur photos
u all ready know how to post ur pictures here so need to get in to that
thats it.