Help Needed In Re-sizing Images

saurora

Since joining SmugMug I haven't had to think about re-sizing an image for a couple of years. I'm not sure I ever knew the proper way to begin with. I need to re-size an existing image to meet qualifications for a contest not on Dgrin. :wink The entries need to meet the following requirements:
Photos must be in JPG format, at least 2200 pixels wide or tall (so they look great in print), and under 10mb each.

My photo measurements are currently:
Pixel Dimensions: 23.4M
Width: 3504 pixels
Height: 2336 pixels
Resolution: 72 pixels

What is the best way to go about this? I am currently using the original version of CS. Is there some sort of conversion chart available?? Thank you for your help! :saurora

jfriend

saurora wrote:

Since joining SmugMug I haven't had to think about re-sizing an image for a couple of years. I'm not sure I ever knew the proper way to begin with. I need to re-size an existing image to meet qualifications for a contest not on Dgrin. The entries need to meet the following requirements:
Photos must be in JPG format, at least 2200 pixels wide or tall (so they look great in print), and under 10mb each.

My photo measurements are currently:
Pixel Dimensions: 23.4M
Width: 3504 pixels
Height: 2336 pixels
Resolution: 72 pixels

What is the best way to go about this? I am currently using the original version of CS. Is there some sort of conversion chart available?? Thank you for your help! :saurora

Your image is already at least 2200 pixels wide or tall and I would expect that a JPEG formatted image this size would be under 10mb as long as you save it at JPEG quality level 10. So, what are you trying to accomplish with this image? What do you need to change on it?

The resolution doesn't mean anything, by the way. I don't know what you mean by pixel dimension: 23.4M.

saurora

Hi John....at the very top of the image size box it states Pixel Dimensions 23.4 M. I guess I'm not understanding this???

saurora

Okay, I usually save as a 10 but it's been a long time since I worked this one up. So I just saved a copy at 10 and it came out with the same dimensions, so I guess it's good to go.

jfriend

saurora wrote:

Hi John....at the very top of the image size box it states Pixel Dimensions 23.4 M. I guess I'm not understanding this???

Ah, OK. The 23.4M is a Photoshop number and has nothing to do with the submission guidelines you are aiming for. Your image is already an appropriate pixel dimension. So as long as it's less than 10MB, it sounds like you're good to go.

FYI, changing the JPEG quality level affects the level of JPEG compression. It does not change the number of pixels. A higher level of compression (which is a lower quality level) discards some detail and makes a smaller file. A lower level of compression preserves more image detail and makes a larger file. JPEG level 10 (on the 1-12 scale in Photoshop) is considered lab quality and is very good quality, indistiguishable from level 11 or 12 for any type of viewing or printing. JPEG level 8 is probably good enough for most uses. JPEG levels below 8 can start to yield some visible loss of detail or compression artifacts in some types of scenes.

saurora

Ah, thanks for your help John! So If they want under 10, I should probably save it as a 9. Hmmm. I just uploaded it, too!!! Oh well. Live and learn!

jfriend

saurora wrote:

Ah, thanks for your help John! So If they want under 10, I should probably save it as a 9. Hmmm. I just uploaded it, too!!! Oh well. Live and learn!

They want a file size under 10 megabytes. That's how large the image file is on disk and is something you'd see in your file system view on your computer (Finder on Mac or Windows Explorer on Windows). Your image file is probably under 10 megabytes already so you are probably fine with what you submitted. If you want to check for sure, you can look at the number of bytes in the file that you uploaded.

JPEG quality level 10 is something entirely different. This is the compression level used by the JPEG compression algorithm when saving the JPEG image from Photoshop. I higher quality level will produce a larger file. A lower quality level will produce a smaller file. If, and only if, your image file was greater than 10MB, you could lower the JPEG compression level by resaving the file in Photoshop. This would make the file smaller.

saurora

I am really slow tonight! It shows as a 2.01MB file when I look in Windows Explorer. A long ways from a 10, I guess. So I'm safe. Thanks again!