Rookie Photoshop question

[bob_schueler]

Hi guys,

 

Amateur here with a basic question. I had a low-priced website built recently and by design my website photos have

to be 800x500 pixels. What's the smartest way to take a photo from a large JPEG and whittle it down to those

specs with CS3? This goes without saying, but I want to keep as much resolution integrity as possible.

 

Thanks

[mendel_leisk]

Right-click the bar across top of image, choose image size, type in desired numbers, choose "bicubic sharper" method (sharpens up a bit when doing reduction).

[jack_landry]

Here is a method thatt gives usually very good results.

 

Open image and let suppose that resolution is something like 3000x200. It's a 2 step downsizing and sharpening process:

 

-File/Automate/Fit image and then type 1500 as Width (don't bother about Height)

 

-Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp mask and choose Amount 60%, Radius 0,5, Threshold 4

 

-Redo steps 1-2 with 850 for Width

 

-Save as jpeg (quality around 10 does a good job). You can also choose 'save for the web' option

 

If results are good (and they will be...), create a new action and record the above steps (I prefer not to include the save step in the recording). Now you can process a whole folder with many pics in a few mouse clicks and upload all pics in you website. For this automated process, go to File/Automate/Batch and here you are...

If the height is over, just crop...

[pam_r]

<p>For use on the web, you'll get the best results by using "Save for web". Go to File>Save>Save for web and devices. Choose Jpg and use the Quality slider to set file size. Along the top of the preview you'll see tabs that will show your original against the re-sized version to compare quality. I usually leave mine set to 2-up so I can preview the before/after.</p>

 

<p>Also, at the bottom of the Save for Web dialog box, you'll be able to see file size, quality setting, and approx download speed, which is an important variable to keep an eye on if you're sizing for a web site. Click on the small arrow top-right and you can change the download speed, and soft-proof other color settings.</p>

[charlesheckel]

You said you wanted to keep resolution integrity. I don't know what that is, but if you want your images to read clearly it sometimes helps to darken the contours before downsizing. There are several ways to do this--Find Edges, Photocopy, and so on--but I like to use a sketch effect as follows:<p>

Duplicate your original, desaturate the duplicate, duplicate the grayed image again, and invert it. Change the blend mode of the inverted image to Color Dodge. Between the positive image below and the negative image above, you should have blank white. Select your negative image and give it a bit of Gaussian Blur--the exact amount depends on the size of your original image--make only the positive and negative layers visible, and Merge Visible. Set the blend mode of this layer to Darken or Multiply, make your original visible, and study the effect. The picture should look sharper. You can accentuate this by selecting your line image and compressing it with Levels to get a very thin line image--you don't want one so thin it disappears when you resize it--and you can reduce the intensity of the effect with the Transparency slider, and increase it by duplicating the line image.<p>Try this, flatten the result, resize it to your parameters, and compare it to a similarly resized original. Good thing for a rookie to know.

[jim mucklin]

<a href=http://www.jimmucklinphotography.com/>Click Here</a> go to the links/how to section at the bottom of the

page.

Hope this helps, feel free to contact me off site if I can help.

Jim

[bob_schueler]

Thanks, guys, for all your help! I truly appreciate it.