Optimize Your Photos for the Web

March 31, 2008 | By Doug In Digital Cameras |

It doesn’t matter if your emailing photos of your grandson or putting images of your latest product on your online store. Too many people don’t consider optimizing their photos for the web. We’ve all been on too many web pages where it seemed that the photos would never load, and sometimes they didn’t. So here are some steps to make sure that your photos show up on your site.

1. Always have a back up original format copy of your image. Never alter the original. Believe me you will regret it.

2. Crop to size. Make sure that you crop out any extra information that isn’t needed. Remember the larger the photo the longer it takes to load or send.

3. Resize to reduce pixels. There should be an option to resize according to pixels. You’re going to want the largest size to be no more than 250 pixels or you can reduce the dpi to no more than 96.

4.Reduce the color palette. Many images have millions of colors so the first thing that you need to do is reduce the colors to 256. You will lose some depth with this.

5. Save the file in a standard format. JPEG is the most common for photos and you can compress the image with a JPEG for further reduction in file size. It’s not unusual to see GIF or PNG as well.

Remember that with a 56k connection a 150k file will take 20 seconds to load. If you’re creating a web page every photo that you add will add to the time it takes to download all of the images. If you keep the images small in size the smaller resolution will not be as obvious.

About The Author

Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally. Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (www.kellypaalphotography.com). She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design.

Canon IXUS i7 Digital Camera (7.1MP, 2.4x optical zoom) - Sepia
Customer Review: What a great camera
I bought this camera for my wife as the EOS 350D I have didn’t quite fit in her handbag! And it’s perfect. The camera is as complicated, or not, as you want it to be. The features are great, but if you want it to point and shoot it does that brilliantly. I can’t recommend this camera enought and with 7.1mp quality the pictures are great.

Sony DSC-W200.CEH Digital Camera (12.1MP) 2.5” LCD
The Cyber-Shot DSC-W200 from Sony is the first compact camera with a 12 million-pixel CCD sensor.It features a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, a 12.3-megapixel Super HAD CCD sensor and a Super Steady Shot stabiliser for beautiful photos in large formats. The Cyber-Shot DSC-W200 includes a built-in flash, while the high 3200 ISO sensitivity works to eliminate blur in photos taken without a flash in low-lighting conditions. What’s more, the BIONZ processor means this camera has very fast response times and optimises image processing.Despite its compact size, the Cyber-Shot DSC-W200 is packed with features, including an optical viewfinder and a 2.5″ LCD screen, so you can choose your favourite focusing mode.If you want to accentuate the faces of the people you’re taking photos of, then look no further! The Cyber-Shot DSC-W200 has a built-in face detection mode that improves focusing on your subject for more realistic results. Furthermore, the scene modes let you quickly adjust the camera to suit your needs at any given time. The built-in editing tool is really useful for making last minute changes and getting the quality you’re after, while the musical slideshow mode lets you show off your creations in attractive presentations.Finally, if you want to view your photos on a high-definition television, this camera has a Full HD output that is adapted to such equipment (HD cable not provided). Going beyond the limits of compact photography, the Cyber-shot DSC-W200 won’t cease to amaze you!
Amazon Price: ?162.54
Used Price: ?131.53
Customer Review: crack house horatio
why hello……… basically i brought this camera about a week ago and at first i must say that i thought it was pretty terrible i kept geeting blurry shots with noise…. i am doing a animation for art school works and for that it was truly gret as you can speed through shots really fast and by pressing unzoom in view mode see all your pictures idsplayed NICEly. As you begin to master the camera in all its glory your pictures will become far more clear ive been mainly using auto mode recently and they look sowwweeet. Also there are sooo many different modes to choose from which each make a noticable difference. battery life is pretty bad buy a few, while animating lasted about 3 hours but i guess i was taking continual shots and deleting etc. the macro mode is pretty awesome for taking very close up shots, took some of flowers, grass, jeans, dead insects etc. and its very impressive. It’s looks are great not to mention its size and still preforms well enough to blow up to A3 (they actually look good)you just have to give this camera some time and then you will realise its true greatness and this is coming from someone who was going to send it back when i first tried it. Sooooooooooooooo just stick with it and you’ll end up with some really good photos. I do art i know what i’m talking about. ohh yer watch out for people trying to jack it cos i assure you, you’ll be very angry.
Customer Review: repairs
I think all purchasers of Sony Digital cameras should be aware of their repair policy. Having purchased a Sony camera I was annoyed to find that, when it failed a short while out of guarantee, the minimum cost of repair was in excess of ?100. Add to that a massive handling charge which was payable even if I didn’t accept a repair. I think all purchasers of Sony products should be aware of this and base whether it is worth purchasing a Sony camera on the fact that if it goes wrong - even after a short period outside of guarantee they will have to consign it to the rubbish bin. The camera had been used on no more than six to eight occasions.

Ex-Pro Pac Designer Digital Camera Case, Water Proof Material, Designer Print for Smaller Camera’s. Includes belt strap and shoulder strap. Ocean, Light Blue & Black
The Pac is our smallest camera case, yet it still offers plenty for the traveller, whether around town or out journeying. Sturdier than other digital camera bags, The Pac is made of water-resistant 600D nylon, and features a sturdy, sewn-on belt loop as well as an adjustable, detachable shoulder strap for easy hands-free photo bag carrying. Our innovative wide-zippered opening creates convenient camera access, and a front pocket holds extra memory cards or similarly sized accessories, such as lens cloths, without hassle. The Pac camera case is designed to securely transport small digital or film point-and-shoot cameras with a light-weight, thickly padded interior. Our Pac digital camera bags are available in 6 different floral colour schemes as well as black, so your photo bag will always be a trendy and useful accessory. Search - Ex-Pro Pac - for full range.