Can't post!

[rachel]

Sorry - no picture. I'm an absolute beginner trying to post an absolute beginners photo for critiqute. I'm so behind the programme that I can't even get my shot to upload - apparently the file is too big. It's a jpeg...how can I squash it down to make it fit?

[NaturesPixel]

do you have Photoshop , PSP or ellements??
you need to resize for the web... so a nice 600px on longest size...

if you dont have those programs try http://www.irfanview.com/ you can resize them and its free

[steevdavis62]

If you want a basic begginers answer... make a copy of the photo, so u dont damage your original... then open the file in microsoft paint. coz everyone has that. then simply save it again... it will be much smaller. file size. then upload as normal

[Seltzer]

The problem with using paint is that it doesn't really save the quality of the images very well. You can also sign up for a flickr, picasa, or other free web based photo site account and then not worry about what size you are uploading to them, and link to there from here.

[steevdavis62]

Yeh i agree with seltzer, paint often looses quality, so always back up your image first. But i just thaught it was a program that absolutely everyone has and knows how to use. But a flickr account like seltzer suggested is a good idea

[rachel]

Thanks for your replies - I need the most basic, basic beginners advise. I've had some computor rage trying to get this photo to upload. I did it in the end by emailing it to myself, because I know that makes them smaller!! I have some homework to do. ANYWAY - here it is. It's not pretty, but what I saw (which made me run and get my camera) WAS pretty. I loved the contrast of our dismal warehouse yard, and the wonderful pure snow through a gap in the doors. What should I have done?

[wulf]

Now your photo is really tiny! As far as I can see though, it looks good, although one of the factors is that the doors look curved. Sometimes you want that as an effect - if not, you either have to zoom more and stand further back (a narrower angle reduces this effect) or do some post-processing tricks.

BTW, I'd second the recommendations for Irfanview (free solution for managing and resizing pictures on your machine) or getting a free account somewhere like Flickr, which will take care of all that for you.

Wulf

[rachel]

Well, I've opened a flickr account and hopefully this upload will be successfull (but probably won't be as the original was small - durr)...the warehouse "doors" are actually big plastic flaps and I think they might look a bit curvy. I guess it isn't possible to try my hand at creating effects in flickr - I'll check out the other suggestions. Thanks alot for bearing with me!

[Saralonde]

I tend to be hopeless at this sort of thing, too. Sometimes it takes me awhile to "get it." Just telling you this so you know if I finally figured it out, you can, too.
I don't think you can create effects in flickr, it's just for hosting pictures. If you want to change your picture, you need a post processing program like Photoshop. If you want a free post processing program try http://www.gimp.org/windows/ or http://picasa.google.com/. I use picasa for basic changes. It's very easy to use, great for beginners. From there I send my pictures to flickr. Once on flickr, just follow the directions in the FAQ to send your pictures here. You can pm me if you want more help.
Of course, if this is not what you are talking about, just ignore the above ramblings .

[rachel]

The ramblings are well on course, THANKS...I'll need to wait until I'm back at work because all my photos are on my PC there. As soon as I can, I'll try out that Picasa thing.....