Optimize Your Photos for the Web

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

Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal

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.

---

Tips for Purchasing a Digital Camera Lens

Your lens is an essential element to good photographs. It's... Read More

How to Buy a Digital Camera

Are you buying your first digital camera? Well, you must... Read More

Photography - Things to Consider Before Buying a Camera

Before you are able to take the kind of photos... Read More

Nikon Digital Cameras - Cool(pix) and Functional

Even though Nikon entered the camera world by 1948, today... Read More

Weddings, From a Photographers Point of View

Your wedding day is without a doubt one of the... Read More

Photo Equipment Lists

You arrive at your photo shoot excited about the images... Read More

Photographs Everywhere, But Is It Really Art?

I once heard a lady say to a photographer that... Read More

The Well-Dressed Photographer - Winter

Some of the best images can be captured during the... Read More

Entering the World of Digital Video Cameras

Gone are the days when you would need to employ... Read More

Digital Zoom Versus Optical Zoom

The digital camera is but a technological advancement of the... Read More

Olympus Digital Cameras - Digging Into The History

One of the oldest companies, Olympus has had a long... Read More

Help! My Old Colour Photo has Turned Pink ? 5 Minute Digital Fix

Almost all of us will have seen this particular photographic... Read More

Four Unique Ways for the Pet Portrait Artist to Stand Out

The warm feelings are flowing all around when the pet... Read More

To Camcorder Enthusiasts: What Does Reality TV Really Mean? - Great News for the Camcorder User!

Reality TV is experiencing an upsurge in popularity and its... Read More

Digital Camera Metering

Looking at the most intricate details of the digital camera... Read More

Home Run Baseball Photography Tips

Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!Baseball! America's Pastime, and a... Read More

Getting Rid of Red Eye

The photos you took of the party are really great... Read More

Getting The Right Digital Camera For You

There are really great advantages in digital photography:You can shoot... Read More

Using Film Speed Effectively

So you have this great new camera. Now you're standing... Read More

Wildlife Scouting Cameras

For years I wondered how big the bucks were that... Read More

Cropping Digital Photos Into Shape

Did you know that in many cases digital photos are... Read More

8 Simple Tips for Taking Great Baby Photos

Taking pictures of your new baby is a great way... Read More

Extreme Digital Photography: Beyond Point-and-shoot

When my old Olympus digital camera got broke while caving... Read More

Black and White is Beautiful

Think about Laurel and Hardy for a moment, or Charlie... Read More

Is Digital Photography Expensive?

Being such a fascinating device as the digital camera, this... Read More

© 2006

Fine Art Photography with Com-Arts.com