Picture Size **Please Read Before Posting**

[jewels inet]

So let me see if I understand. I save my image for flickr in a larger file format. I ususally save 800 x ? Once I upload my image to flickr, I go to YOUR PHOTOS, find my image, click on the image I want to share, click on ALL SIZES in the menu above the image, I choose small (240 x 176) then copy and paste the code into the forum. If you want to see my pic as a larger image, you click on the image and it will take you to my flickr photo stream and you can see this in a larger format and you can also look at other photos I am sharing. Even though the image is saved as 800 x 588, when I share it with this forum it is a smaller image. Is this going to work for the forum?

[NaturesPixel]

Jewels that is it exactly ... but from flickr you can use the sizes MED or SMALL... both will not break the bandwidth or forum layout

[wulf]

... and a nice little picture as well as a good description of what to do.

Wulf

[longtymago]

I'm new to the site. I'm trying to resize my photos to fit the criteria of the forums. I can easily resize so the longest side is less than 600, however, no matter how small I go I can't get the file size down to meet the 97KB restriction. Any ideas? Maybe going through Flickr is the best and simplest option but I didn't necessarily want to post some of these photos on my Flickr page. Thanks.

[wulf]

The image size depends on the dimensions, the content of the picture, the file format and how much it is compressed. Complicated, eh?

If your longest side is 600px and the other side is also getting on for 600px, that's up to 360,000 little dots that the file has to store information about. In a complex picture with minimal compression that could result in quite a large file.

Assuming that you're using JPG files, the solutions are to either go for smaller dimensions (the Flickr medium size is 500px on the longest side and you might even be able to push it down further than that) or to increase the level of compression (try a few different levels and take a look to see how much you can get away with). At a compression level of 85 (1 being squashed into oblivion and 100 being uncompressed), I regularly find that pictures of 600px+ on the longest side come in at less than 100KB.

Or upload the pictures to Flickr and set them to private. We won't be able to browse over there to see the full sized version but we will be able to see the image (the same probably applies to other photo sharing sites as well).

Wulf

[longtymago]

Thanks. One more question. How many photos is it appropriate to post for one assignment?

[wulf]

Personally I prefer to post just one picture per posting (unless it is something like a "before and after" thread where two ore more are needed) and to let a few other people contribute before putting another up - if I've got a whole series, I would rather pick the best and then link back to the rest of the set.

It's largely a matter of discretion - the ground rule is just "be nice" (don't hog things and pay attention to what other people contribute rather than trying to turn it into a personal gallery).

Wulf

[NaturesPixel]

Originally Posted by longtymago

Thanks. One more question. How many photos is it appropriate to post for one assignment?

if this is strictly for assignments.. then 1-2 images for each post... come back in a day and add another post if you have taken more for an assignment but yes like wulf says.. be nice and think about others also

[Fish Noir Foul]

I'm new and I thought I was doing good by reading the FAQ before posting.
I saw the Picture Size heading on this thread but still I thought that must just be for attachments.
I assumed sites like FLICKR & Photobucket bore the brunt of bandwith and you were more or less re-directed to their sites from the embedded links when you used them.
Also if you want people to post no more than 2 photos at a time then why not set the limit at 2 rather than 4 as it is now?
At any rate since posting photos seems to be the thing to do around here this sort of regulation should appear in the FAQ.
Maybe I read the wrong FAQ

[Nicole]

Hi Fish Noir Foul (Great name btw)-

The relevant picture sizes are also posted in the FAQs. From the posting from Flickr part of the FAQ:

Choose the “Small” or “Medium” size by clicking on it (Please do not use the large size since it makes the page load slowly for some of the DPS readers and it does not fit the pages very well).

As far as bandwidth goes, it's not just a concern for the site, but also for users. Not everyone is on a broadband connection, or even an unlimited bandwidth broadband connection. Larger pictures = more to download for each user. And as wulf said in an earlier post:

3. Bandwidth costs. At the moment, DPS is provided for free. I am not sure what kind of income it generates but I do know that bandwidth costs. Even where the load is spread across external image hosts (like Flickr), that still pushes up individual's download limits (total levels could mount up over the course of a month, especially if there is limited caching on the local machine).

And to address your final point, I'm not actually sure where you saw the 4 picture limit that you're referring to, so feel free to point us there so that could be changed