Uploading to SmugMug... image size best practices?

PilotBrad · June 15, 2010

I've been using Lightroom and uploading direct to SmugMug using Jeffrey Friedle's LR to SM plugin. To date I have been uploading my images in their native resolution, using the gallery options to restrict the viewing size and right-click capabilities for users (when desired).

On one or two occassions, I've received an error during export that my files are over the 12MB limit for my account level, and this got me to thinking...

What's the best practice here? Do most people upload images in their native size and then restrict viewing size, or downsample to a particular pixel dimension before/during upload?

I guess the only tradeoff I can see here is that if you resize you could potentially limit the size of the prints that could be made directly from SmugMug.

Just curious what others are doing.

Art Scott · June 15, 2010

I have a PRO SM account and so I uprez 99% of my files to my limit and then restrict the viewing size...........

PilotBrad · June 15, 2010

Thanks Art. Can I ask a question.... what benefit do you get from uprezing?

BradfordBenn · June 16, 2010

I set mine at maximum size and put the quality at 80%. I forget where I read it, but that appears the same as 100% quality and still renders good prints. The reason I increased the compression was to speed up upload time.

robilic · December 6, 2010

I have Canon 5D mark II. I use Lightroom 3 to upload photos. I know maximum size per file is 24MB. My files has 10MB per file (raw files are 21MB). I don't know how to setup Lightroom to have maximum size files in Smugmug. I found tutorial about Lightroom but I can't find answer to this problem. Any suggestion?

Art Scott · December 6, 2010

PilotBrad wrote: »

Thanks Art. Can I ask a question.... what benefit do you get from uprezing?

Simple answer.......I get images that do not need a viewing distance to be viewed without any grain or noise (as long as I created a grainless and noiseless image first....ie..lowest possible ISO).......Also I do not upload toally original files for printing...I do all my own cropping the cleint has no say in how an image is cropped, unles it is a portrait or wedding of them......all of my fine art work is sold only in the 4x5 aspect ratio.......starting at 8x10 and larger........

Long drawn out answer.............

i have found that many many people do not understand viewing distance, even interior decorators with art degrees.....
and they complained about grainy pix at 30x 40 inches or larger......and then I ran across an article on Genuine Fractals...actually it was on a company called Lizard Tech that had developed something called Genuine fractals......and I won't get into what I was actually looking for and why this sparked my interest....but I read the article and was very interested, as I knew some of the printers in NYC work making huge billboard prints but no one seemed to know how and this was in the film era and scanned images....and these NYC big boys would not acknowledge a little mid western guy with no national rep....so I kept searching and finally bought a copy of GF from Lizard tech and it came with a 30day guarantee and I could return it.....whoa.....so I uprezed my first pic to 30x40 @300dpi (which for my digital cam [KMA@300dpi] was a near perfect 8x10 in photoshop) and cut an 8x10 out of that image to print at wally world (cheap and fast...did not need perfect color just sharp image) and that 8x10 was perfectly sharp...back then it took several minutes to uprez an image as it was a stair step incremental thing...so unlike to day with GF where you can do uprezing in one step either by actual photo size (so many inches by so many inches) or by percent...it is really fast......all this and I have totally answered you question.....by uprezing I can give a client a huge pic that they can look at from just far enuff away that their eyes aren't crossed and it looks just as good as an 8x10 would from the same distance........

Now to get my images to 8x10 in photoshop I am regularly changing size to either 400-700 dpi and then cropping away unwanted junk....I have sent files off for printing that nearly fill a CD with one image......and there is always the original file for the processor to use if their RIP software can do better than GF......so far my processor has told me to forget sending in original files as they like the GF files better......

Qarik · December 7, 2010

how are you getting 12M jpg file size? The biggest jpgs I get are 5M. I shoot a 12M camera and set my exports to 90%. I upload full rez all the time. Are you shoting a 5D MK2 with 100% quality?

Uploading to SmugMug... image size best practices?

Comments