Image Sizing & Sharpening for Smugmug?

photomagic

Hi,

I am new here and am just starting to do my site. I have spent most of the day going through the forum topics and Smugmug help / info areas.

I am not understanding the image prep before uploading. I am used to controlling everything for websites with my photos. From what I understand, I don't do any resizing and I can either add some sharpening or none at all, depending on what I like.

Can someone please tell me do I need to resize my photos to a particular size and do I add sharpening before uploading my photos to my site? I shoot 8.2 mp camera, raw and process in 16-Bit.

I am just the type of person that needs direct instructions.

Thank you very much for your help and I look forward to becoming an active member.

Michele

jfriend

Upload original resolution files

photomagic wrote:

Hi,

I am new here and am just starting to do my site. I have spent most of the day going through the forum topics and Smugmug help / info areas.

I am not understanding the image prep before uploading. I am used to controlling everything for websites with my photos. From what I understand, I don't do any resizing and I can either add some sharpening or none at all, depending on what I like.

Can someone please tell me do I need to resize my photos to a particular size and do I add sharpening before uploading my photos to my site? I shoot 8.2 mp camera, raw and process in 16-Bit.

I am just the type of person that needs direct instructions.

Thank you very much for your help and I look forward to becoming an active member.

Michele

Most Smugmug customers upload full size originals with their own sharpening and then Smugmug will automatically generate at least five smaller sizes for web display (two thumb sizes and a S, M and L viewing sizes with an XL size coming soon).

This gives you five main advantages that I see:

1. If you or your viewers want to order prints, Smugmug can make the prints from the full resolution image - offering the highest quality prints and the largest possible enlargements for each image.
2. You don't have to do the work to create web-sized versions of your images. Just upload originals and leave all the web creation work to them.
3. You get an automatic backup on Smugmug of all your full resolution JPEGs that you can retrieve at any time (backed up in multiple data centers).
4. If you (optionally) want to allow your viewers to download your originals to either add to their own digital albums or to make their own prints, you can enable download of originals all from the same album.
5. If you have a pro account, you can even offer the originals digital file for sale as a digital download.

I personally sharpen my originals in the way that I would sharpen them for printing and then let Smugmug make the web-sized versions from that. They will downsample to the smaller sizes and add just an appropriate amount of sharpening to compensate for the slight loss of sharpness in the downsizing process. Their sharpening is only meant to compensate for the downsampling process, not meant as a substitute for the main sharpening operation on the original.

You should also note that even though you upload the orignal resolution images, you get to control whether viewers have any access to that original (either via print orders or via download).

vt1122

Originals
I had assumed that by not allowing originals this only pertained to viewing and downloading, but if someone orders prints they still would be made from the originals. Right or wrong? Guess thats why you should never assume.

photomagic

Thank you John for your response. :)

David, I can't clarify your question because I don't know myself. Hopefully someone can let us both know.. :)

jfriend

vt1122 wrote:

I had assumed that by not allowing originals this only pertained to viewing and downloading, but if someone orders prints they still would be made from the originals. Right or wrong? Guess thats why you should never assume.

Prints are always made from the highest resolution file available regardless of any other setting (except for the settings that controls whether viewers can order prints or not).

So the answer is yes. Even if you disable the viewing or downloading of originals, the originals are still used for printing.

raebrown

jfriend wrote:

If you (optionally) want to allow your viewers to download your originals to either add to their own digital albums or to make their own prints, you can enable download of originals all from the same album.

Is this done by allowing originals to be viewed and by not disabling right clicks? Is it possible to only allow right clicks in our 'family' albums?

jfriend

raebrown wrote:

Is this done by allowing originals to be viewed and by not disabling right clicks? Is it possible to only allow right clicks in our 'family' albums?

Access to originals is in the gallery customization screen. You just turn it on or off. If it is on, then the "Save Photo" option will appear in the menu and the viewer will also be allowed to view originals.

Right-click protection is a completely different setting designed to deter theft of the web-sized versions of your images. The two are not directly related in operation, though it would be unusual to have both right-click protection on and access to originals on since it would make much sense to protect the web-sized versions of your images if originals are allowed.

In family galleries where I want my family to have full access to the images, I turn right-click protection off (I generally don't use it anyway) and I enable access to originals. You can do both of these in the gallery customization screen.

Yes, you can enable right-clicks, but not allow originals. This will let people have free access to your web-sized images with right-click.