Editing photos for upload to online sites and forums

[Grumpy Goat]

Many times it is useful to attach a photo or two to a post, and there are two ways to do this - (1) linking to a photo that is hosted on a photo sharing website or (2) uploading a photo from your own computer.

In either case it is better to link or upload smaller photos since the page will load faster and download costs are kept down. If the photo stored on a photo sharing site is large it can be downloaded, edited and then attached to the post to make the post look better and avoid the dreaded side to side scrolling. If it is on your computer no need to download so you save one step!

This attached article addresses photo file size, giving some background information and then it goes on to describe how this can be done with any competent photo editing program. Please have a read, and consider saving for further reference.

  Editing Photos for Upload to the RSWasserboxer Forum Community.pdf (Size: 1.65 MB / Downloads: 55)

[SauRoN]

Precisely one of the reasons I very much prefer using Tapatalk to access forums as it makes photo uploads so much simpler and more direct with very little hassle.

[Grumpy Goat]

Precisely one of the reasons I very much prefer using Tapatalk to access forums as it makes photo uploads so much simpler and more direct with very little hassle.

How so - what does Tapatalk do for this function? I have not used Tapatalk in a while, but if it is phone-centred and improves picture upload then that is a good thing.

The main thing users have to remember is to resize the photo and that will solve 2 things - it will display better on most monitors that others use, and it will be lighter byte-wise. No sense uploading a photo that is 4000-odd pixels wide if most viewers are using 1920 pixel displays.

But more and more people browse via phones so making it easier for phone users is a must.

[darrell]

I'm still struggling getting photos to load on a post so haven't added a couple of posts. Even when I resize on my MacBook Pro and they state they are below the limit on this forum when attaching I get a message they are too large. I send them to someone and they are fine size wise. I'll stay in touch with this thread and see what might come up to help me.

[Grumpy Goat]

I'm still struggling getting photos to load on a post so haven't added a couple of posts. Even when I resize on my MacBook Pro and they state they are below the limit on this forum when attaching I get a message they are too large. I send them to someone and they are fine size wise. I'll stay in touch with this thread and see what might come up to help me.

Darrell - please email me one of the photos causing this issue - the down-sized version - and let me investigate.

[SauRoN]

Precisely one of the reasons I very much prefer using Tapatalk to access forums as it makes photo uploads so much simpler and more direct with very little hassle.

How so - what does Tapatalk do for this function? I have not used Tapatalk in a while, but if it is phone-centred and improves picture upload then that is a good thing.

The main thing users have to remember is to resize the photo and that will solve 2 things - it will display better on most monitors that others use, and it will be lighter byte-wise. No sense uploading a photo that is 4000-odd pixels wide if most viewers are using 1920 pixel displays.

But more and more people browse via phones so making it easier for phone users is a must.

Tapatalk hosts your photos directly and inserts the link for you so it’s very painless.

More so it offers resizing during upload to make that simpler.



Like so.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Grumpy Goat]

Yes, I tried Tapatalk after setting it up and it seemed OK. Nice wallet ... https://andarwallets.com/

[Grumpy Goat]

For those who have some trouble uploading photos to your forum posts - here is a nice article which offers several FREE online web tools for resizing photos: https://www.batchphoto.com/blog/10-free-...os-online/

Basically you take your fat / large photos, upload them to these tools, it resizes them for you and then you upload the smaller photos to your post. Yes - it is not as convenient as having the forum software squish the photos on the fly before showing the post online, but at the moment I don't have that functionality in this FREE forum software.

So - since we all know that pictures are worth 1000 words - please DO upload properly sized photos to share with us all. I LOVE to see photos and videos; who doesn't?

And also, any specific questions, let me know and I will try and give you a solution.

[Lee]

I use a windows computer and use the software provided by Windows.
It's called Paint.

I open my picture folder on the computer and Rt Click on the picture thumbnail.
Select Edit
Select Resize
Select Pixels
On a Landscape picture I use 1200 or less for the horizontal
On a Portrait picture I use 750 or less for the vertical.

You only need to change one value, the other will change automatically.

[Grumpy Goat]

I use a windows computer and use the software provided by Windows.
It's called Paint.
...

Great tip Lee and you do get good results. Using a program like that to change size and pixel-weight is dead easy once one invests the few minutes it takes to learn it.

It is just that some have told me that they either use a Mac or they don't know how to use dedicated software like MS Paint, so for those users maybe the online conversion option provides another possibility.

We do live in a touchscreen generation where unless you can tap a button and stuff happens automagically, it ain't happening. My wife is one of those persons. She uses a phone all the time (social media), and on her computer when she needs to browse on a bigger screen or do the books or write an important email but besides that she doesn't know how to really use either ... and is apparently disinterested in learning.

[Grumpy Goat]

Worked all three times! Nice photos too.

[darrell]

Worked all three times! Nice photos too.

Thanks to you and your daughter helping getting me sorted out. Photo wise, still need help other places.

[darrell]

Testing adding multiple photos to one posting.[attachment=195][attachment=193][attachment=194]

[Grumpy Goat]

Beautiful. Looks like you have this all figured out now, Darrell.

[darrell]

Testing photo size[attachment=322]

[Ray]

Testing photo size

(Once again, the photo shows you somehow avoiding the rain.)

[darrell]

Testing photo size

(Once again, the photo shows you somehow avoiding the rain.)

This photo was taken on July 22 sitting on Elizabeth’s parents deck in Steamboat Springs, CO. The ski slopes are on the left hand side of the photo. Their deck alone can get me to Colorado at least once or twice a year. And yes I was glad to have bike tucked away in their garage and me sitting on their deck when this front came through. Their home is at about 7200 ft.

[Lee]

Testing photo size

That's a great picture.
File size and dimensions are good.

[Grumpy Goat]

He does have it all figured out ...

[Pyrrho]

It is just that some have told me that they either use a Mac or they don't know how to use dedicated software like MS Paint, so for those users maybe the online conversion option provides another possibility.

As a Mac user I offer the following.

Macs since '01 have included an app called Preview, which can perform all the tasks needed for prepping members' photos for upload. If not aware, this is what opens images and PDFs by default when clicked on.

1. Open the image and ensure Preview is the app displayed in the Menu bar, otherwise open it via Finder (in /Applications) or Spotlight and then the image file(s) you're working on from within the app
   
2. Click on Tools in the Menu Bar and select Adjust Size...
   
3. Ensure Scale proportionally is checked (it is by default)
   
4. Change width and/or height to fit, noting that the dialog box will display resulting size in both percentage and file size
   
5. Click on OK or press Return
   

Applications such as Preview on modern Macs save edits to the file automatically so you're good to go. Previous revisions are kept as hidden files and can be restored via File > Revert To in the app, or via Time Machine. I recommend making a duplicate of the image you want to work on first and then use Preview to crop & resize the duplicate file instead.