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01-02-2017, 03:23 PM   #1
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Image Dimensions

I feel fairly comfortable doing basic PP from RAW with Photoshop Elements, so I feel pretty ignorant asking this question, but how do I control the dimensions of an image when I post it on PF (not pixels - inches)? I use Photobucket and when the image appears on PF it's often much too big on the monitor and exposes image quality flaws that wouldn't show with a smaller image. Any help would be appreciated.

01-02-2017, 04:18 PM   #2
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I generally resize any picture I post to various on-line media by selecting a desired file size. When I do "Save As" in PSE, and the file size pop-up appears, I normally select a file size using the slider from .5 MB to 1 MB depending on the picture and media site. I've found that 1 MB files appear to be an appropriate size on PF, but sometimes smaller is preferred, say .7 MB. You can also do it by inches, but I've found file size approach easier with the same desired result.

Last edited by dave2k; 01-02-2017 at 05:45 PM.
01-02-2017, 04:23 PM   #3
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When you process the photo from the raw file, if it is for posting on the web forget about physical size, pixels are what count. You can resize the image in ACR, or process it full size and then open the jpeg in the editor and resize it. Resize to the requirements of the website or use something like 1900 pixels wide.

It sounds like you have been processing too small in pixel size and the website is displaying it at a larger size.
01-02-2017, 04:34 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by pschlute Quote
When you process the photo from the raw file, if it is for posting on the web forget about physical size, pixels are what count.
......Yep.

01-02-2017, 05:05 PM   #5
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I generally put jpegs on the web at 1024 pixels along the long side. This fits just about every website I can think of. Most editors offer a way to resize your image. Some editors allow you to resize when exporting (Lightroom, Luminar, etc), while other editors have you resize prior to the export (Pixelmator).
01-02-2017, 08:11 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by jacamar Quote
I feel fairly comfortable doing basic PP from RAW with Photoshop Elements, so I feel pretty ignorant asking this question, but how do I control the dimensions of an image when I post it on PF (not pixels - inches)? I use Photobucket and when the image appears on PF it's often much too big on the monitor and exposes image quality flaws that wouldn't show with a smaller image. Any help would be appreciated.
Yup, others have already stated this, but inches (and the corresponding DPI metric) only apply to prints.

Most screens these days have fairly high resolutions, so photos between 1000px and 1200px wide should fit comfortably while providing ample detail.

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01-02-2017, 08:56 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by jacamar Quote
I use Photobucket and when the image appears on PF it's often much too big on the monitor and exposes image quality flaws that wouldn't show with a smaller image. Any help would be appreciated.
Been awhile since I abandoned PB, but there should be a setting like "link size" or "link back" in the links page that sets the size for images posted elsewhere.

01-02-2017, 09:13 PM - 2 Likes   #8
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If you don't want to fuss with this as part of your post-processing, uploading a full-size copy to Flickr produces shareable (and embedable) links of all sorts of sizes.
01-03-2017, 06:54 AM   #9
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Thanks for the responses everybody - this is something I've been struggling with for a while. I resized this image to 800x1200 pixels but the actual dimensions of the image on my monitor are no different from the non-resized image. Sorry if I seem a bit thick here, but I'd prefer a "size" (not file size) that doesn't require scrolling to see the entire image.

01-03-2017, 09:24 AM - 1 Like   #10
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I think you need to read up a bit more on image resolution.

When viewing an image on a monitor, the pixel dimensions are the only thing that will really matter. Inches and pixel density (dpi) only matter once you commit an image to print (hard-copy) format.

So... I currently have a monitor that has a resolution of 1680 x 1050. If I wanted an image that would essentially fill the monitor, I would make sure the width and height did not exceed that on a w x h. This means I make sure the height doesn't exceed 1000 or the width doesn't exceed 1600; this also means that the other dimension may be smaller than the limits since our cameras shoot at a 3:2 ratio, or I crop accordingly.

If I look at your example, you say you resized to 800 x 1200, but the photo is portrait oriented. So, on my screen I have to scroll because the 1200 pixels exceeds the 1060 height of my monitor. Plus, I'm on a browser, so the width is further restricted by the app's header and the tool bar on my Windows 10 OS. This could be the case with any app (e.g. LR).

If you want the photo to fit on the screen at 100% (1:1 in LR), you would need to make it smaller keeping in mind that you don't get the full screen to fit an image on.

Next, you need to keep in mind zoom. Just because an image is a certain pixel size, doesn't mean it can't appear larger or smaller. For instance, LR will usually scale all images to fit the screen. Thus a really large image may start out at a zoom of 20% (for example, I don't know your monitor or initial file resolution). Of course, the "zoomed" image is now not at the actual resolution but something smaller so that you can see it on the screen. Similarly, you could zoom in a resized image and end up with an image that is too big for your screen. Zoom is generally independent of the image size, especially if you have it set to something (even inadvertently). So, you should probably make sure you have the zoom at 100% for the original and resized image to make sure they are really the same size. Because if they are, then something is funny with your software.

Last, when you put images on the web, recognize that web-pages and software may resize your image for viewing or to fit its style. For instance, your image actually shows up to be 683 x 1024, presumably because PF or my browser sets it that way.
01-03-2017, 10:59 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by emalvick Quote
your image actually shows up to be 683 x 1024
Ditto on my browser.

There is a nifty screen capture utility for Windows called PicPick that has a tool for measuring pixels on your screen. With the program active in the background, you can right-click its icon in the system tray and select Pixel Ruler. It then overlays a ruler on top of whatever is on the screen. You can orient it horizontally or vertically and drag it around the screen (or screens in a two monitor setup) to line it up with the background image. Then just read the numbers on the ruler where it lines up with background image features. It doesn't matter what your screen resolution is. I have found it super handy for measuring image features for all sorts of image processing.tasks, such as where I might want to put crop lines to observe the rule of thirds for the main subject. PicPick is free for non-commercial use.
01-03-2017, 11:04 AM   #12
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Thanks Erik for taking the time to explain this. Usually I feel I'm able to produce images that I find rewarding with fairly simple tweaks in Photoshop Elements, but there are so many variables here I obviously have more work to do. At the same time, it would be nice to have a "zoom" feature that sets the physical dimensions of the image at an appropriate level of resolution!
01-03-2017, 11:49 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by jacamar Quote
but there are so many variables here

it would be nice to have a "zoom" feature that sets the physical dimensions of the image at an appropriate level of resolution!
There are lots of variables and it takes time to get a basic grip on them, don't worry.

Adobe elements will allow you to set a physical dimension to any image, but that wont help you because computer screens only use pixels to determine how to display an image. You could create two seperate files, one 10"x8" and one 20"x16". But if your resolution settings (pixels per inch) are such that both images are say 800 pixels wide, these will display identically on a monitor/webpage.

Of course they may both display larger or smaller than you intend depending on the monitor resolution they are viewed on, and whether the webpage downsizes the pictures.
01-03-2017, 01:20 PM - 1 Like   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by jacamar Quote
Thanks Erik for taking the time to explain this. Usually I feel I'm able to produce images that I find rewarding with fairly simple tweaks in Photoshop Elements, but there are so many variables here I obviously have more work to do. At the same time, it would be nice to have a "zoom" feature that sets the physical dimensions of the image at an appropriate level of resolution!
I think the trick is to do a little work up-front and ask a couple of questions.

(1) do you only care about how the image is looking for you (your monitor) or
(2) or are you worried about your image for everyone?

If it is for your own monitor,
* I would find what your monitor's resolution is or set at (google how you can find this for your operating system)
* Next I would use the vertical height of the screen as a guide for selecting size, and basically make a develop (export) setting in LR that is specifically geared towards this size. For instance, the monitor I'm at right now as a 1050 vertical resolution, so I would probably try to keep the height of my image around 800 (I could adjust this after some testing).
* in LR I would go to the "Image Sizing" heading under the Export dialogue: (a) select resize to fit and (b) choose Width and Height in the drop down and (c) give a W and Height based on your screen size (I would probably choose 1500 x 800 for my monitor). The resolution won't matter since you are doing this for the web (again we're focused on pixels not inches)

If you are trying to do this for a great number of people, then I would probably just choose 1200 x 800, but realize that a shot like the one you had above would end up at 533 x 800 because you need the vertical size constrained. However, once you have things set, you can save the preset, and all your exports will essentially fit your need or be zoomed appropriately (i.e. limited by the dimensions you set). You'll never have to think about it again.

Finally, there is something to be said about using a web-site like Flickr, Smug-Mug, etc. You can just upload your images full-size and then go to the web-site, and it will present you with multiple sizes to meet your needs with usually a nice web-size image up front. I think you'll see a lot of people on this forum use that. And, you don't have to think much about what size your image is. The web-site will do that for you.
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