BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:50 PM

Well, John, my only concern here was just finding a fast and simple way to resize a jpeg. I'm always willing to pay for software if I need it, but I hate paying for programs that I can't understand how to use, and which end up accordingly as a complete waste of my time and money...not to mention programs which do 85,012 things, out of which 85,007 of them are probably things I will never even want to do! ;-)

(sigh...)

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:38 PM

Serif Photo Plus 6.0
. This is the download site at Tucows. The download is about 19 MB, so getting it will take a while on a slow connection; but I didn't have any problems doing the download on my "worlds' slowest dial-up."

If you're NOT using Windows, you may want to pop back up to Tucows and look for a different version, but there's lots of info about the program splattered all over the web.

This program has been recommended as "does everything that Photoshop does" although it's admitted that it's not quite as "intuitive" to use as Photoshop. You should be able to get what you want with it, and you'll have lots of spare horsepower if you ever want to impress someone.

I haven't tried it, but downloaded it for my cheap-assed ^%!$@# trucker son - who, I see, still hasn't bothered to install it, so I still can't look at it unless I do the install for him.

Another way of working the problem is to use one of the accessory programs that typically comes with your inkjet printer, or that you can download from your printer-people. There's lots of variation in what these programs do for/to you, so personal evaluation is required.

The really grubby cheapassed don'tgiveashit method is to upload the picture to one of the common "shareyourpictureswithallyourfriends" websites. The site usually will atuomatically resize to a "web friendly" thumbnail/display size, and you can save it back from the web to get a "more usable" size - sometimes. Results may vary.

John

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Bill D
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:38 PM

There is a free image viewing/editing program called Irfanview which will do almost anything the average person needs like that.

There is another free viewer/editor called Faststone which may even be better.

Both excellent programs.

Photoshop is overkill for simple editing.

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:31 PM

Oh, by the way, I have a PC and am using Windows XP...to answer Alice's question.

The Powertoys image resizer that bobad gave the link to is a free download.

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: ragdall
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:31 PM

Another really great free photo editor is Picasa2. It's awesome! (Thanks, number 6, for showing this to me.)

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Alice
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:30 PM

If you have a Mac, there is an inexpensive program called Color It!

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:28 PM

And it was a hell of a lot easier (and cheaper) than buying and then trying to learn Photoshop...or some other such utility program.

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:25 PM

Cool! The image resizer Powertoy does it. Thanks, bobad! That was really a quick fix. The amazing thing is that I have spent a fairly large amount of time with 2 local computer stores, trying to solve this, and someone on Mudcat solves it for me in no time flat.

Sure is funny how the world works...

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: bobad
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:25 PM

Would that be Gimp John?

The first link I posted is a very simple and quick resizer that just requires a right click on the image and you 4 preset sizes or a custom size option, all one really needs.

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:17 PM

The best way of doing it is with a decent photo editing program.

My favorite is Photoshop Elements, but I got an old version when it was cheap, and it's been "improved" now. New versions are a bit expensive. I'd still recommend it, if you might want to do anything other than extrememly simple stuff.

I'm not current on what freeware image editing programs are available now, but the basic answer is that you need an image editing program that lets you change the number of pixels in the image, and that can save as .jpg. Better programs let you choose how much compression to apply as well, but for web use you may be able to get by with one that uses a single compression amount.

The only things included in WinXP, so far as I've noticed, are the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, which can't do any editing, and Paint, which allows limited cropping but can't change resolution - which is what you need.

There is one freeware program that I've seen that's an "almost copy" of Photoshop, that would be an excellent choice; but for some reason I'm not finding my notes on it, so I'll have to do some "exotic searching." Someone else may be able to recommend a favorite while we wait.

John

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Alice
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:10 PM

Photoshop is what I use, but it is a bit pricey... that's why I asked what system you have.
Alice

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Alice
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:09 PM

Sorry, didn't mean to send a blank message. Are you using a PC or Mac? What system version?

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: GUEST,michaelr
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:08 PM

Use a photo editing program, such as Photoshop.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Alice
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 07:07 PM

Subject: RE: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: bobad
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 06:58 PM

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Subject: BS: How do I reduce size of digital photos?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Jun 07 - 06:45 PM

This one's been puzzling me. I have a lot of jpegs on my computer, mostly pictures I've taken with a digital camera. They are large files, typically about 1.2 Megabites each. I am unable to upload these photos into Ebay ads or email them to friends who don't have Hi-speed hookup, because the files are so large.

How do I make them smaller? I'd like to reduce the size of these pictures to maybe 300k each or something like that.

I notice that when the pictures are attached to an email and they appear below the text that they are very large...quite a bit bigger than the entire computer screen. I'd like to reduce their size in that respect also, down to maybe half as wide as the computer screen.

How do I do it?